"Can you tell me about Death?"

"About Death, Harry, or my death?" The teen didn't respond. Time nodded his head. "I was young, foolish. I was twenty-four and had constantly thought I was running out of time, and that I wouldn't live a long time. I was horrified by it. So, I did what I could to have more time."

"What did you do?"

"If I tell you, Harry, will you be able to handle it?" Harry nodded, crossing his legs.

"I will! I promise."

"I created a Horcrux." Time took a sip of his tea, closing his eyes. "Life and Death were two of the victims I used to make it happen."

"Wait, what?"

"I don't want to say I went insane; I'm sure I was insane long before I murdered them."

"You knew them?"

"They were my best friends, the only two who had stuck by my side in search of immortality." He opened his eyes. "You are the first."

"First what?"

"Ah, right." Time said, looking to the side like he was talking to someone who Harry couldn't see. He probably was. "You are the first to not be a seeker of immortality."

The group landed on the ground with a thud, Hermione pulling them out of the way of a moving car right after they landed.

They leaned against the wall, panting. Ron grasped Hermione's hand, not letting it go, even though they had landed safely elsewhere.

For the most part.

"Where's Neville?" Harry asked, frantic. He sped off down the muggle street, head snapping from side to side as he looked for the teen. "Neville?!"

Ron and Hermione speed off after him, barely catching their breath. Was it the anxiety that was keeping Harry moving? The fear? The loss? Where was Neville?

"Neville!"

"Harry, yelling like this won't help," Hermione told him, grabbing his shoulder. Harry turned to face her, eyes wide and pupils small. He was so scared. It hurt Hermione deep in her heart. "We'll find him, but we have to be smart about it."

"Neville!"

"Harry!" Ron grabbed his arm, tugging him out of the way of the street. A car sped past, neither Harry nor the driver paying attention to the road. "Calm down."

"Do not tell me to calm down, I'll calm down when I find him! Neville!"

Ron tugged Harry into the alleyway, grabbing his shoulders.

"Snap out of it! We don't know where he is, or who's near us! You're going to get us caught!"

Harry took a deep breath, then another. He knew Ron was right. If he kept going like this, who knew what would happen to the three of them? He needed to be smart and safe. That mattered just as much as finding Neville did. He couldn't find Neville if he was dead.

But then he saw a flash of dirty blonde hair and he ran off.

"Where are we- Harry!" Ron's eyes went wide as he watched Harry speed off, running away and disappearing into the crowd. Ron and Hermione bolted after him, but the nighttime crowd proved too much, separating them.

"Harry! Harry!"

A few muggles stared at them as Hermione called out. It was the exact thing she told Harry not to do, but now that didn't matter. Two of them were gone.

Hermione and Ron looked around for a while, running after and calling out to every tall, pale brunette they saw. After thirty minutes, they were on the verge of taking a break.

"Ron… we have too. We can't use magic here, and we're both exhausted. I have a few stay-awake potions in my bag, but it's too risky here." she whispered to her boyfriend, letting the redhead hold her close.

"Where do we go?"

"I saw a cafe somewhere over there. We can rest for a bit, get some coffee and water, eat a little…"

"Right." Ron nodded, wrapping his arm tightly around the back of her shoulders, a sort of barrier between her and the other muggles. Hermione grabbed his hand, squeezing it as she led them back to the empty cafe they saw.

"Welcome," A tired voice suddenly yawned. "To Cats and Snacks, the best shaped treats in london."

"Hi," Hermione mumbled back, the two of them sitting down together. "We'll have two coffees"

"Right, yeah." the lady blinked and slipped a headphone in her ear, moving to the back.

"He couldn't have gone far," Ron reasoned, peering around the shop. "It's Harry."

"That's exactly why he could have gone far. He hasn't got the trace anymore, he could be casting magic everywhere."

"He wouldn't," he tried to say, shaking his head. "Harry's much smarter than that."

"But that was when he wasn't shocked or scared. Neville is his life-line, we all know this. Without Neville.."

The door jingled open, Hermione and Ron paying it no mind. Two men walked in, going up to the front and ringing the bell. That's when Hermione saw the wand.

"Protego!" Hermione shouted just in time, the spell ricocheting off her shield and up into the ceiling. One of the tiles fell with a thud. Ron quickly stood up, wand at the ready.

The cafe exploded into chaos as the Death Eaters tried to break through Hermione's shield, their spells bouncing off the invisible barrier. Ron, unable to disarm the first Death Eater, launched a quick spell to stun him. It struck the smaller of the Death Eaters, knocking him to the ground.

Another spell shot at the ceiling, dropping another section of the tile down. It fell on the stunned Death Eater's head. By the crunch, they could tell he was dead.

"Bitch!" The alive one yelled, a familiar green spell flying from his wand. Hermione was able to dodge just in time. The spell flew over her shoulder, hitting and shattering a window.

"Stupefy!" Hermione countered as Ron switched to shielding. Even though it was two against one, the Death Eater obviously had the upper hand in skill and speed.

The red spell struck him in the chest, and he fell. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, moving up from her position on the ground.

"Bloody hell," Ron panted. That about sums it up. How were they going to explain this to the poor worker?

"What the fuck…" a voice said. A crash sounded as the waitress dropped the two coffee cups, her hands coming up to her mouth. Her eyes were wide in shock as she backed away.

"It's okay! We aren't going to hurt you," Hermione tried to say softly, but the words came out threatening.

"Back off!" The lady yelled, bumping into a wall. Ron thought fast, launching a spell her way.

"Stupefy!"

The lady collapsed against the wall and sank to the floor, out of it.

"We need to obliviate them," Hermione muttered, approaching the downed Death Eater. "You do him, I'll get the girl."

Ron nodded and walked over to the man as he was told. Ron didn't recognise him. He didn't know if he preferred it that way or not. On one side, if he knew them, he didn't know what he'd do. But since he doesn't, what was stopping Ron from being overly cruel? What stopped him from being judge, jury, and executioner?

His own values, of course, but the fear was still there. The fear he'd snap, become something dark, that he'd hurt someone he loved.

"Obliviate," Ron muttered, the blue spell lightly floating over the man's forehead before settling down. He wouldn't remember this whole encounter if they were lucky.

"We should go," Hermione told him, pulling him away from the downed men. "We need to find Harry. He's probably a wreck."

Harry was.

No matter how many people he called after, or how many people he chased, none of them were Neville. Where was he? Harry shouldn't have let him slip through like that, he should have gripped on, extra tight. He should have grabbed his wrist instead of his hand, he should have known Neville would have gotten lost.

Harry cursed as yet another person bumped into him. These people, they had no- nevermind. He didn't need to be getting into that right away.

Something blue floated past in the wind. Harry turned to look at it, his eyes widening. It was the same colour as Neville's suit jacket!

Harry rushed toward the piece of fabric, grasping it in his hands as he pulled it from the air. His finger rubbed over it, looking for a pattern, or a hint that it was actually Nevilles. The only thing that partially proved it was the Gryffindors was the bit of gold on the side. It wasn't much, but to Harry's irrational mind it was true. Neville had to be nearby, he just had to be.

"Neville?!"

"Quit yelling!" The muggle said, shoving him roughly. "Go find your little boyfriend somewhere else."

"I'm looking for my brother you absolute twat," Harry growled furiously, pushing the man back. "Screw off."

"Freak," the man hissed. Harry ignored him, shoving past a second time and ending up back in the populated area of…wherever they were. He had ran off before Hermione had told him.

"Neville?!" he tried again. No response.

"Neville!"

"Harry!"

The brunette whipped around, heart thudding in his chest. Could it be Neville? Was he right this whole time, and Neville was here?

"Oh Harry," the voice sounded so sad.

"Hermione, Harry said, sighing. "Any luck?"

"Bad luck. Ran into two Death Eaters." Ron told him, looking grim.

"Damn it!" Harry yelled, magic coursing through him. No, no, no, no, no! Neville couldn't be missing!

"Harry, please," Hermione begged. Harry stomped his foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

"No!" Harry began to pace the slightly open area. He felt something heavy on him. "I won't- I'll save him! I can't let him disappear!"

"Mate-"

"I need to find him, if I don't how will I go on? What if Death Eaters got him? What if-" Harry's body shuddered. Hermione gasped. Harry stomped his foot again.

"Harry, pay attention!"

"It's all my fault, if I had just held on tighter…he's not going to run out of time, no, he couldn't, I would know, he'd tell me-"

Unbeknownst to Harry, his feelings had begun to manifest. Seeping out of the dark corners and areas came his magic. Everywhere he had walked, he had left just a bit of himself behind. He was exhausted, even if his body didn't tell him that yet.

A giant thud finally shocked Harry out of what he was feeling. A misshapen beast, as tall as two men, stalked around them, glaring at Hermione and Ron. Its arms were deformed, its head twisted, and its knees bent backwards, but still, it stalked through the night.

"Harry! Make it go away!"

"I-I-I I can't! I don't know what that is!" Harry said. "What is that!?"

"It came from you, Harry!" Hermione told him.

"What?!"

"Stupefy."

Harry fell to the ground with a thud. It was worth it though, as the beast stalking and screeching around them slowly began to disappear, as if it was never there in the first place. Finally, Ron and Hermione had a chance to breathe.

"Where do we go? We can't just leave ourselves out in the open like this, especially with Harry like he is."

"There's only one place I can think of," Hermione admitted, looking around. "It's nearby, and should still be under the fedlius charm.

"You don't mean…?"

Hermione nodded.

They were going to 12 Grimmauld Place.

It's dark out here, in this forest. He was scared, he was tired, and his hand hurt so bad. The bleeding had finally managed to stop, but that didn't stop the pain. He just wanted to rest, to fall asleep, but he had to keep going. He was so hungry.

If you give in, you won't be. A voice whispered in his ear. He tried to ignore it, truly! He was so tired, so hungry, so cold, so lonely.

You won't be alone with me, child.

He wanted to give in. It sounded so sweet on the other side. No need to eat, no need to drink. Perhaps death would be what saved him.

You are not going to face death, child. You are going to become it.

"Angel's Trumpet, finely sliced," Severus muttered to himself as he sliced the mushroom, setting it aside in its own metal bowl. A highly poisonous and corrosive fungus, it needed to be kept away from everything.

"Dandelion root, Nightshade, Moondew…"

"And Deathcaps," A woman's voice said. Severus recognised it as Narcissa, the only person brave enough to come into the lab when he was working.

"Those are added at the end and need to be juiced last." Narcissa didn't respond, instead moving to stand by the wall. She stared at him, watching as he stirred the potion, adding in extra leaves and a few other ingredients. Her eyes narrowed, watching him toss in the occamy egg.

"That shouldn't be in there," Narcissa commented. It was Severus' turn to say nothing. "Just who are you, Severus Snape?"

"I am like you, Narcissa," he whispered. "I am a father protecting my son, just as you are protecting yours."

"You recognise him?"

"I love him."

Severus ignored the burning in his arm, sticking a titanium syringe into the death caps, taking the juice inside them and dribbling it into the potion.

"Can you-"

"Yes, I will. Twenty times?" Severus shook his head.

"Twenty-one now, with the occamy egg."

"Be safe, Severus," she told him. He nodded, heading out of the room as the blonde began stirring. He knew Narcissa would stay quiet about what he was doing. He would give the tampered potions to Voldemort, but… he patted the inside of his robes. He'd keep the working ones on himself, just in case.

His arm burned again, longer this time. He needed to hurry up.