A/n: Okay, I know, it's been a while. I'm sorry. Last year was... rough. I was sick a few times, work was insane, and it just... wasn't a good year. At all. But I'm back, and I am determined to finish this.

Chapter 49 - The Time Has Come

Monday, after breakfast, most of the students went to class. Salenia and Marcus bid them good luck; they had their own exams this week, but they had seen firsthand how stressful this had been for their friends. The fifth and seventh years gathered outside the Great Hall, waiting and biding their time. The seventh years looked even more frantic than they did. Class by class, they were called into the Great Hall. The house tables normally present had been removed, and rows of desks were now in their place. All the students stood and sat there as the examiner walked in - Professor Marchbanks, head of the Wizarding Examination Authority. They watched her as she walked to the staff table at the head of the hall. Spare parchment, ink wells, and quills were stacked around her, as well as a large hourglass.

"You may begin," she said as she turned over the hourglass.

Jacob took a deep breath and turned his paper over. The first question was on Wingardiam Leviosa . He remembered Ron using it on the troll in their first year to make the club hit the troll on the head. He started writing as the time ticked away. Two hours later, he left the Great Hall, quickly finding Draco, who slipped an arm around him. Ron and Hermione were soon beside them, and most of their respective groups soon joined them. "I don't think it went that badly," Hermione said. "I'm not sure I did justice on the Cheering Charms. I just wasn't sure how much to write, and time was counting down. I thought I might come back to it, but I just ran out of time."

"Hermione, please, for the love of Merlin," Ron started, but Draco cut him off, and soon, Draco and Hermione were going over their exams.

Jacob tried to ignore them, but he heard Seamus say, "I suppose that's why they're at the top of the year, and we're not."

"I think I'm fine with that right now," Neville said, rubbing his head. Jacob had to agree, though he thought he'd done pretty well. His head hurt, and he, like most of the others, was not in the mood to go over it all.

The house tables were put back for lunch. That afternoon, they were led into the room behind the staff table. Everyone stood in there, anxious, as three or four at a time, they were called into the Great Hall. Since his last name started with S, Jacob waited for a while. He watched as Hermione nervously followed Anthony Goldstein, Gregory Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass into the Great Hall when their names were called.

Jacob continued to wait. For once, he wished his name wasn't so far down in the alphabet, a bit farther than it would have been as Harry Potter. He gave Draco a small smile as he and a few others were called. He glanced at Ron and then Blaise - both would be waiting longer than him. Finally, he was called into a group that included Elizabeth. They gave each other a nervous glance as they walked out of the Great Hall. Of the fifth years left, there were only Dean Thomas, Blaise Zabini, Ron, and a Ravenclaw named Lisa Turpin.

The Great Hall was set up with each examiner at a station as students performed various charms. Jacob was led to a table away from Draco — Hermione was gone — which was good. He didn't want to be distracted by him or vice versa. For the most part, Jacob thought he had done rather well. He had made one slight mistake of confusing Colour Change and Growth Charms, but luckily, he rectified it as quickly as possible. Draco scolded him for that later but admitted that his practical exam could have been better.

Transfiguration took place on Tuesday. This was one of the subjects that he had studied the most over the past couple of months. He had taken his father's advice and concentrated on his weaker subjects. He had put a bit more time into Transfiguration, though. Of the main subjects, Potions was by far his weakest, but he wasn't all that great at Transfiguration, either. He wasn't bad, though, but nonetheless, he was a bit nervous going into this exam.

His written exam hadn't gone that badly. Although he thought he could have done better, he was fairly satisfied with his performance overall. His practical exam had gone about as well as he had expected. He successfully managed to vanish his iguana and left feeling as if he had done his job. Herbology was Wednesday, and Jacob thought he had done fine there. Every day after the exams, Hermione and Draco would review everything in detail, leaving everyone else groaning.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was on Thursday, and Jacob was confident he would get an O on this one. He couldn't see a single thing he could have done better afterward. Even if this was the only thing he got an O in, it had to be this one.

Ancient Runes finished out the week. Since Jacob had only taken it for a year, he thought he had done alright. They spent most of the weekend revising in the library, except for spending the morning with his father on Sunday. Monday came around, and the subject that Jacob was the most worried about. Draco and Hermione told him he would do well and had improved a lot. He knew they were both biased, but it meant a lot regardless, and neither would say it if it weren't true.

The written exam was difficult, which was saying something since his father was a demanding teacher. At the very least, he knew he had gotten the Polyjuice Potion question correct because he had taken it once in his second year and remembered it very clearly. He left the exam that morning feeling strangely satisfied? At least in that part, he had done everything he could. The practical exam went rather well, actually. He couldn't see later where he had gotten anything wrong. As far as he could see, the potion had turned out exactly as intended.

He wasn't the only one who had said that things had gone well for them - both Neville and Ron mentioned feeling a lot calmer. He knew his father wasn't their favorite teacher, and he didn't always treat them well in class, though for the most part, his father hadn't been as bad as he had in previous years. He was still not, and never would be, anyone's favorite teacher. Probably not even his, as Potions was not his best subject by a long shot.

Care of Magical Creatures was next, and Jacob did as well as expected. He felt guilty about his lost relationship with Hagrid but knew Hermione was right. There just hadn't seemed to be enough time. He had been too busy adjusting to everything. He also felt guilty knowing he was probably dropping this class next year, but he couldn't see himself keeping it. He would try to go along with them more next year to try and get a new relationship with Hagrid as Jacob.

Astronomy followed the next day. The theory test was that morning, with the practical test being that night at Midnight. They spent most of the night revising, so he didn't get as much sleep as he would have liked. Ron was the only one who had a test on Thursday - Divination - so Jacob spent the day revising with Draco and Hermione for their final two tests.

Friday was the final day of exams, which meant, of course, there were two of them. They had Arithmancy in the morning and History of Magic in the afternoon. By the time he was finishing his History of Magic O.W.L., he was afraid he would fall asleep and was fairly certain he wasn't the only one. After over two weeks of non-stop revising, he started dozing while finishing the test.

A flash of fear went through him, and he jolted awake. For a moment, Jacob was sure he had imagined it. He returned to finish the exam and, once again, felt his head drop a bit. It happened again, only this time, there was a flash of Sirius, of somewhere familiar, and a sense of Voldemort. Jacob was wide awake now, his heart racing. With time ending, Jacob scribbled down the final answers right before time ran out. Everyone handed in their tests and filed out of the Great Hall. He felt like he was in a haze, the visions he'd had replaying over and over his head as everyone talked about finally being done.

"I think I did okay on that one," Neville said.

"Same here, but I was so tired, though, the end of the test was kind of a blur," Seamus admitted.

"At least I know I passed," Pansy huffed.

He felt a hand grab his and he turned to see a worried Draco looking back at him. "Are you alright?" Both Hermione and Ron were frowning at him before they shared a quick glance.

"Yeah," he said, putting on an act for the rest of their extended friend group not in the know. "I'm just tired. I dozed off a bit at the end there." There were some laughs, and while that part was true, judging by the looks on his boyfriend and friend's faces, they didn't buy it.

Everyone else seemed to, though, most of them splitting up to go to their respective common rooms. The four of them took that opportunity to go in another direction while no one else was paying attention. They needed to talk and quickly.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

It didn't take long for them to find an abandoned classroom. Hermione quickly locked it while Draco put up a silencing charm just in case. "What's this about, mate?" Ron asked.

"I saw something, like with your dad," he asked, "when I dozed off at the end of my History of Magic lesson. It was quick, but it was enough - Voldemort has Sirius. Something is wrong. We have to do something."

"Jacob, slow down. Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, it was like with Ron's dad," he said. "I'm sure." It felt like his heart was in a vice. He had barely spoken to Sirius this year. If they couldn't rescue him, that would be how things ended. He couldn't let it happen. If positions were reversed, Sirius would come for him, no questions asked.

"Jacob, I understand how you feel," Hermione said, speaking slowly and carefully as if to a small child or a scared animal. "We can't just go rushing in, though. We don't know where he is, and…" She paused and seemed to steel herself before continuing. "He may be coming after him to try and get to you. You - Harry Potter, I mean - have been missing for quite a while."

"I do; it's the same place that Ron's dad was at, I'm sure of it," he said. "I'm not sure where that is exactly, though, it was so brief -"

"Gryffindors," Draco said, cutting him off. All three of them turned to look at him. He hadn't spoken since they'd come in here, and Draco was staring at him, too. "Almost a year in our house, and you are still one of them. Has it ever occurred to you that He may not have him at all?"

All three of them blinked at him. "You mean, you don't think he does but may just want Jacob to think that?" Ron asked.

"Think about it — why go through the effort?" Draco asked, shrugging his shoulders. "He doesn't know where Harry Potter is for sure, but he probably wants to bring him out of hiding and back to Britain. He doesn't need to spare the manpower to go and find Black and bring him there. He just needs you to think so and for you to come running right where he wants you to be."

The three of them stood there for a moment before Hermione spoke up. "I hadn't considered that," she said. "It makes sense."

"How can you be sure, though?" Jacob asked, fear and worry running through him. What if they were wrong? Sirius's life could hang in the balance. He couldn't let him die. He just couldn't.

"We could Floo him," Ron suggested. "Didn't you say that you have the Room of Requirement set up to privately contact him?"

"We ask your father, of course," Draco cut in. "Let's head to his rooms, and I'm sure he'll know we're there and be along shortly."

"That's a good plan," Hermione said, "and honestly, Jacob, I think Draco's right. It makes the most sense." She walked over and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sure everything is okay. You'll see. But either way, your father should know about this."

"Besides," Draco pointed out, "you can't go running off to face Him down looking like that anyway. You're not Harry Potter anymore, remember?"

Ron looked to Jacob, seeming to be willing to go along with whatever he said, but it was clear that they both agreed with Draco. And he couldn't ignore the fact that he had been about to do just that, and Draco was right - he wasn't Harry Potter anymore. "Let's go talk to my dad." His rooms were closer; if something was wrong, maybe his father could get the Order to help. As far as he knew, his father hadn't been called lately, so it was unlikely they already did know if something actually was wrong.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

They put Disillusionment Charms on Ron and Hermione, as they were worried about what people might think about two Gryffindors heading down towards the Potions Master's rooms. They removed the charms as soon as they got in, and luckily, they didn't have to wait long. Severus walked in a short while later, looking between the four of them. Before any of them had a chance to speak, he pointed right at Jacob. "Explain."

"I had another vision," he explained. "I dozed off a bit during the History of Magic exam and had… flashes, like with Ron's dad." His palms were sweating, and his heart was racing. "He has Sirius in the same place he had Mr. Weasley."

"Or he wants him to think he does," Draco piped up, squeezing Jacob's hand.

Severus looked between them. "If he's wrong -" Jacob started, but his father cut him off.

"I think Draco is correct, but I will make sure. You were right to come here first," he said, holding up a hand when Jacob tried to cut in again. "I will be back as soon as I am able. Stay here. I meant it." He turned to Draco, Ron, and Hermione. "Do not let him leave." With that, he turned and stormed out.

Jacob didn't appreciate that, but in his father's defense, barging off did sound like something he would do since he had been thinking about doing just that before being stopped by his boyfriend and his two best friends. Every minute felt excruciating, though.

"I'm sure everything is fine," Hermione said. "There's a good reason why he's not back yet. And it hasn't been that long."

It had probably only been thirty minutes or so when his father returned. "Black is fine," he stated matter-of-factly. Jacob instantly felt relieved. Draco had been right. That was followed by guilt. His first instinct had been to rush, and he would have dragged Ron and Hermione down with him if Draco hadn't been there to talk some sense into him. He could have dragged his father down with him. He hadn't even thought about needing a disguise. Would Hermione know what spells to use off the top of her head? He felt so stupid.

"You three may leave," his father said, jarring Jacob out of his thoughts as he indicated Draco, Ron, and Hermione before indicating Jacob. " You stay here." The three of them looked at Jacob as if they were worried about leaving him alone. "That was not a request." Draco squeezed his hand, but all three of them got up, saying their thank yous to Severus before they left the room.

"Look, I know what you're going to say -"

"Do you?" His father said, cutting off. He sounded annoyed and angry. While neither was uncommon, they weren't things he wanted him to feel towards him anymore.

"Yes, I got emotional and was going to rush into something I was unprepared for," he said. "I was just feeling guilty that I haven't spoken to or seen Sirius in so long, and something might have happened. I've just been dealing with… everything, and I put that on the back burner. But I should have thought it through more because I can't very well go to face down Voldemort and Death Eaters looking like Jacob Snape."

Severus froze, just looking at him for a moment before saying, "Good, I'm glad you understand, but that doesn't change the fact that you might have just gone off if you hadn't listened to Draco. You don't know what the consequences of something like that could be. You could have gotten yourself or someone else hurt. You need to think things through."

Jacob just nodded. "Yes, you're right. I should have."

His father clearly hadn't been prepared for Jacob to agree with him, as he didn't seem to know what to say. "Good then. As for Black, you will be home soon, and then you will be able to see him more. For now, you should go to dinner, but after, you should return here." Severus elaborated after the confused look he must have seen on Jacob's face. "Dumbledore wants to see you. He didn't say what about, so don't ask."

Jacob stood up. So, his father had been in contact with Dumbledore, at least on some level. "Okay, I'll be there, I suppose. See you later." With that, he left his father's room, and his father followed behind him. He had no idea what Dumbledore might want to see him about.

~*o*x*o*x*o*x*o*x~

Severus finished some work before returning to his room for dinner. He would spend the weekend catching up on what he needed to do. After dinner, he just simply waited, book in hand. He was not going to settle in for the night or get comfortable. He knew Dumbledore had something planned; his instincts told him that. He had told the old man when Umbridge had been relieved of duty and been very surprised when he had elected not to return yet.

Now, he needed to see Jacob. There was something about it that Severus didn't like. What had he been up to? The fireplace came to life almost as if on cue, and Dumbledore walked out of it. Severus set down his book immediately and stood up. "Albus. Jacob should be here soon."

"It's good to see you, Severus," Dumbledore said. It was then that Severus took note of him. This was the first time he'd fully seen him the day he fled Hogwarts. He looked weak and tired, more so than he'd seen him before. And… was his hand black? Yes, it almost looked as if his hand had died, and there was a cracked ring on it now.

"Your arm-" Severus began, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"I'm getting to that," Dumbledore said. "I need to speak to you quickly before your son arrives." Severus raised an eyebrow, but the Headmaster didn't wait for him to go on. "Order members ambushed Death Eaters at the Ministry. It will be in the paper tomorrow, most likely. After I didn't hear from them, I went myself. Tom showed up. We had quite the duel. Luckily, I alerted Cornelius of an issue at the Ministry, and he happened to show up and see Voldemort there. At least he's not in denial any more. Tom wasn't prepared for that, and he left shortly after. The Death Eaters have been arrested. None of our Order members were harmed, thankfully, and Sirius and the rest left quickly so he wasn't seen. One problem at a time, of course."

At least he was dealt with, and now, the truth would be out. "I have found and destroyed one Horcrux." He lifted the dead hand up with the ring on it. "A curse that was on it, and if not for my skill, I think I'd be dead already. I used up my liquid luck, unfortunately. It's been slowly getting worse since it happened. I'll have you look at it later, but we don't have time for that now. There's one more Horcrux that we didn't discuss before."

"Another one?" Severus asked. Why had he not mentioned this earlier?

"The night Lily and James Potter died, I believe that a part of Voldemort's soul latched onto the only living thing in the room." His son. No, absolutely not. "I am certain that a part of Voldemort's soul lives inside Jacob. It explains why he can speak Parsletongue and why they have a connection." Dumbledore seemed to be searching him for something, but Severus was refusing to feel anything. "Listen to me, and I know you don't want to, but it is essential that, when the time comes, that part must be destroyed and Voldemort himself must do it."

"I refuse to believe that."

"I know how you must be feeling -"

"Don't give me that, no, you don't," Severus said frankly. "I've known he was my son for less than a year, and now you're telling me he has to die ?" He shook his head and heard something break behind him. "No, there has to be another way. There is always another way."

"Sometimes there isn't," Dumbledore said frankly. "Sometimes, certain things have to happen in a certain way. I wish it weren't so." He honestly seemed to, but Severus couldn't tell if that was because he was tired - and he seemed to be - or if it was because he honestly felt that way. If anyone knew what he was really like, it was Severus. While he had many good qualities, he wouldn't deny that, Dumbledore had always been very good at manipulating people. That Severus knew all too well.

"I refuse to believe that," he said.

"I'm afraid that you don't have much of a choice," he said. As with so many other things in his life, but this, this was one thing that he refused to believe there was no other option. If that was indeed true, he was going to exhaust all other possibilities before he left his son to walk into death. "I will leave it up to you to decide if you should tell him. I don't think it wise, though."

Severus was saved from further discussion when Jacob entered the room. "Ah, there you are, my dear boy," Dumbledore said.

"It's good to see you, sir," Jacob said after he had shut the door behind him. He paused, taking a look at the hand. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm afraid I need your help," Dumbledore said. "I have destroyed one Horcrux." He held up his dead hand as proof. "I believe I have found another." That took Severus by surprise; whatever he had expected him to say, it hadn't been that. "I must ask you to accompany me." Jacob looked at Severus, and Dumbledore turned to him. "I will have your son back unharmed. You have my word." With that, he turned back to Jacob. "Shall we?" He offered Harry his hand, and before either of them could say anything, Dumbledore and Jacob disappeared.

The only thing Severus could think was that there had to be another way. But what if there wasn't?