Disclaimer:
The Harry Potter Universe was created by J. K. Rowling.
No monetary profit is being made from this writing
Summary: Harry goes in search of Snape and Voldemort
for revenge.
Big spoilers for "Half Blood Prince."
Drama - PG
~~~~~~~~~~
HARRY POTTER
"Harry,
no!" Hermione exclaimed.
"It's too dangerous."
"She's
right," Ron said.
"I've
made up my mind and no one is going to talk me out of it or stop me."
Hermione let out a scream of anguish.
"I can't
let him get away, not after what he did," Harry said. "I'm going to find him and-"
"Harry
you can't!"
Potter glared at her.
"Do you
think he should get away while innocent people like Stan Shunpike are locked up
in Azkaban?!"
"Of
course not, justice must be done, but-"
"And I'm
the one to do it."
"Harry
killing rips the soul apart. For your
own sake, I urge you not to-"
"I'm
going."
"How on
Earth are you going to find him?"
"With
this."
Ron and Hermione looked at the clasp Harry held in his
hand.
"I took
it from Snape's room and I found an scrying spell in an ancient magic
book. It required something of the
person you're trying to locate."
"Harry,
that's very dangerous."
Harry's eyes
flashed. "More dangerous to Snape
I would say."
Hermione sighed.
"There's an ancient Chinese saying: 'let he who seeks revenge dig
two graves.'"
"Then
I'll dig one for Snape and the other for Voldemort."
Hermione shook her head, knowing nothing she or Ron
said would make any difference as both friends worriedly watched Harry Potter
disappear into the night.
* *
*
"Hurry
up, Draco!" Snape snapped.
"You're lagging behind."
Malfoy struggled to keep up with Snape's brisk pace.
"Need I
remind you we are now on the run. No doubt *Potter* had regaled all and sundry
with what transpired back there."
"Trust
*him*."
Snape's lip curled in disgust as they turned into a
dark alleyway. As they approached the
end, Harry stepped out into full view, wand at the ready. Draco drew his wand. Snape lowered it.
"Full
marks, Potter," Snape said.
"Now I
get full marks from you?"
Snape gave a cruel smile. "No doubt you've come to exact your revenge."
"Right
you are." Harry held his wand
menacingly.
"Well do
it. That is *if* you have the nerve,
which I seriously doubt."
"DON"T MOCK ME!" Harry screamed. "I'll kill you and Voldemort!"
"I'm
sure."
Potter glared at Snape and raised his wand.
"I'm
waiting, Potter."
Harry gritted his teeth.
"I
haven't got all night."
"Expelliarmus!" Harry screamed at last.
Snape swerved and the blast hit the fence.
"I told
you you didn't have it in you," Snape said. "Come, Draco, we're late for our meeting with the Dark
Lord."
Harry was positively livid. "That was just a warm up."
"Whatever you tell yourself, Potter," Draco said.
"Ava…" Harry began, then stopped.
Snape did not turn around.
"Avad…"
Snape turned around, and drew his wand. "Your feeble attempts are starting to
irritate me, Potter.
Expelliarmus!"
Harry was thrown back into the fence.
"Do it
now," Draco said. "I presume
the Avada Kedavra will work even if he's unconscious."
"Of
course it will."
"Then do
it."
Snape smacked the back of Draco's head. "Idiot! The Dark Lord wants him alive."
Malfoy scowled.
"Then we should take him with."
"Now is
not the time. When he is ready he will
come to us."
Draco grunted.
"Now
follow me, unless you want to become as unconscious as Potter back there and
don't expect me to carry you."
Scowling Draco followed Snape into the night.
* *
*
"Harry!"
Hermione exclaimed upon Potter's return.
"What happened?" She asked taking in his bedraggled
appearance. "Is Snape-"
"Alive,
unfortunately."
"And
you're lucky to be. Let's get you to
the hospital wing."
"I was
so useless," Harry complained.
"So utterly useless. I
wanted to do it, I *really* did, but…"
"You're
not a killer, Harry," Hermione said, reassuringly. "Even after what Snape did, you found
yourself unable to kill him."
Harry bashed the nearest pillar, then rubbed his
hand. Ron came running to them.
"Did you
do it?" he asked, breathless.
"No," Hermione snapped, "and he's all the better for
it."
* *
*
After Harry had recovered, Professor McGonagall came
to him.
"Harry,
I have something for you."
"Voldemort's whereabouts?"
Minerva winced at the name. "No, I'm afraid not.
It's a letter."
"Later," Harry said.
"It's
from Albus."
Harry stared at her.
"Dumbledore …."
"Yes. He wrote it before he
… died … I was on strict instructions not to give it to you until this
date."
Harry took the letter and opened it as McGonagall
left.
"Dearest
Harry,
I realise the recent events have come as a shock to
you, and you must be grieving right now.
I respect your grief, but do not lose yourself in it."
Harry looked up, tears welling in his eyes as he read
the remainder of the letter.
Dumbfounded, Harry's hand flopped to his side, still holding the letter,
hand shaking. He swallowed, more
determined to find Snape now than ever.
This time he did not tell Ron or Hermione.
* * *
Snape gathered a few things from Spinner's End and was
annoyed when he was disturbed by a knock at the door. He surmised Aurors would have burst their way in, so he felt no
danger as he opened it.
"Potter. What a *pleasant*
surprise. Come to try and kill me
again?"
Harry glared at him.
"You're
lucky you caught me. Five minutes later
and I wouldn't be here."
"I had a
feeling you'd be here."
Snape stood back.
"Well come in then."
Harry entered.
"Tea? Coffee? An infusion of asphodel and wormwood?"
Harry did not smile.
"Where's Draco?"
"With
the Dark Lord."
"Now if
you don't mind, Potter, I am in rather a rush."
"I can
see that. You know I could have the
Aurors here in a matter of minutes. You could be smooching Dementors in no time. Assuming you even have a soul to be sucked
out."
Snape winced slightly at the last statement. "Well what's stopping you?"
"This." Harry handed
Snape Dumbledore's letter.
Severus began to read silently.
Dearest Harry,
I realise the recent events
have come as a shock to you, and you must be grieving right now. I respect your grief, but do not lose
yourself in it. I must also ask you not to place your anger onto Severus. This may come as a shock to you, but he did
only what I asked him to do. He and
Draco would have been killed otherwise.
At one point, Severus and I had a terrible row over it to the point at
which he stormed out of my office, blatantly refusing to do what I asked of
him. In the end, he will realise that
it has to be done of course. You must
not blow his cover, also you must not hate him for what he had to do,
Harry. It is for the greater good of
all.
Your friend, Albus
Dumbledore.
Snape seemed oddly touched by the letter as he passed it back to Harry.
"I had
it checked," Harry said.
"Of
course you did."
"It's
genuine. Though don't expect me to
forgive you."
Severus chuckled mirthlessly. "I am beyond redemption, Potter."
Harry actually felt a pang of pity at that point, but
it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared.
"So you
didn't come here to kiss and make up," Snape said. "What did you come here for,
Potter?"
"I want
you to teach me how to kill."
Snape regarded Harry.
"Are you sure?"
Potter nodded.
"You've done it before."
Harry glared at him.
"It's
not easy," Snape said.
"It's
was for you."
Snape glared at him.
"No, it wasn't and I'm not convinced that you have it in you, but
we'll see."
The Ex Hogwarts Professor went and fetched a rabbit.
"There
you go, Potter."
"But
…"
"You
can't expect to learn how to kill without killing something, now can you? Or is
this too much for you?"
Harry swallowed and drew his wand and pointed it at
the rabbit.
"Ava … A
… Avada Kedavra…" he squeaked.
"Pathetic, Potter. That
wouldn't even harm a fly."
Harry tried again to no avail. Snape did not look impressed.
"Avada
Kedavra!" he screamed, green light shooting out of his wand, killing the
rabbit stone dead. "That's how
it's done."
"It
seems so easy for *you.*"
"If you
even can't kill a rabbit how in the name of Merlin are you going to kill
Voldemort?"
Snape fetched another rabbit. "At least Malfoy grasped it and you'd
better hurry up, I'm running out of rabbits."
Harry tried again and again.
"Pathetic," Snape scoffed again.
Anger rose within Harry, then he saw something.
"Avada
Kedavra!" he yelled, appearing to miss the rabbit completely.
"Well
done, Potter," Snape said.
"You've successfully killed a cockroach."
Harry allowed himself to smile.
"But
you've a long way to go," Snape said.
"Can we
stop now? I'm starving. What's for
dinner?"
"Rabbit
stew."
Harry stared at him.
"You're joking, right?"
* *
*
"So far
you've killed a cockroach and a gerbil," Snape said. "Draco's at least managed a deer."
"I'm not
Draco!"
"We
can't stay here much longer," Snape said.
Within the
hour Harry had killed a noisy chicken.
"That'll
have to do," Snape said.
"Don't
tell me we're having chicken for dinner."
Severus gave a nasty smile.
Draco returned within the next hour.
"What's
*he* doing here?"
"Expelliarmus!" Snape
exclaimed, throwing Harry backwards.
"The
time is now," he said.
"It's
*about* time," Draco said.
* *
*
Harry came to in Voldemort's lair. Most of the Death Eaters were out killing on Voldemort's orders. Harry glared at Draco and Snape, despite Dumbledore's letter, he was now unsure about the ex Potions Master once more.
"Harry,
Harry," Harry," Voldemort said.
"A pleasure I'm sure."
Harry stood.
"Not likely."
"Prepare
him, Severus."
Snape gave a nod as he ushered Harry away. Draco watched them go with a sense of
relief.
Harry tried to struggle away, but Severus' grip was
firm. The next thing he knew he was
stiff as a board. As Dumbledore had
done, Snape had wordlessly immobilised him.
When he came to, he was strapped to a bed and blood
was dripping from a cut on his arm into a large ancient goblet.
"So you
were loyal to Voldemort all along … You played Dumbledore for a fool … You
pretended to not want to-"
"SHUT
UP, POTTER!" Snape screamed.
" Don't say anything you know nothing about!"
Harry sank back onto the bed, feeling utterly
helpless.
"Let me
hurt him," Bellatrix pleaded, an evil glint in her eye.
"When
the Dark Lord is finished with him, I have a surprise in store for you,
Bellatrix," Snape said.
"Ooh, I
hope it's painful."
"It will
be."
"Can't
wait."
The goblet was almost full now and Harry was
despairing.
"Don't
worry yourself, Potter," Snape said.
"Soon it'll be all over."
Weakly, Harry laid back down. "I hate you."
"I know."
"You
promised my mother and father would be safe," Draco wailed.
Voldemort smiled, a smile which made Draco's blood run
cold. "They will be. The Dementors have brought your mother and
father here."
Draco seemed relieved. Narcissa was over the moon to see her son safe, as was Lucius,
but he did his best not to show it.
Draco had never seen his father look so bedraggled and Draco began to
have second thoughts about his Dark Lord.
The goblet was almost full now.
"Severus
… Severus please…" Harry winced, remembering those were Dumbledore's last
words too, and Snape had not succumbed one iota.
Snape also seemed to wince slightly, recalling the
memory.
"Begging, Potter?"
"You
can't do this." Harry leaned
forward a little. "With my blood
he'll become invincible. I'm not
begging for myself, but for the thousands, if not millions Voldemort will bring
to harm."
"I know
what I'm doing, Potter."
"Do
you?"
"Yes." Snape's voice
was oddly gentle. "Lie back down,
you'll feel more comfortable."
Harry did so, but comfort was the last thing on his
mind right now.
When the goblet was full, Snape prepared a few things
before taking it to Lord Voldemort.
"Don't
spill a drop of that precious elixir," Voldemort warned.
"I don't
intend to," Snape said with a smile.
He knelt down before handing the goblet to Voldemort.
The Dark Lord stood and held it up.
"With
this I shall become the most powerful dark wizard there ever was or ever will
be."
Bellatrix's eyes had glazed over as she stared at her
Master like an obedient House Elf. Draco stared too as Voldemort began to drink
the vermilion blood. Snape looked
triumphant as he stood. Voldemort
finished the contents of the goblet and wiped his mouth which curved into a
toothy smile.
"I feel
it coursing through me … " And then his eyes bulged and he lurched
forward.
"Master!" Bellatrix exclaimed, running to catch him. Snape made no effort whatsoever to help
Voldemort. The Dark Lord pushed
Bellatrix aside.
"SNAPE!!!" he roared.
Snape smiled.
"More fool you," he said.
"In your greed you didn't think to check the concoction."
"WHAT
HAVE YOU DONE?!" Voldemort bellowed.
Bellatrix looked horrified.
"So you
were Dumbledore's stooge all along…" Voldemort rasped. He laughed, then let out a cry of rage. "So what did you put in with Potter's
blood?"
"A
double lethal dose of the asphodelic potion.
Undetectable. You'll be dead
within five minutes."
"NO!" Bellatrix screamed.
She raised her wand to kill Snape, but Snape beat her to it.
Voldemort let out a cry of rage, though not at
Bellatrix's death. He pushed Snape to
the ground, causing his wand to go flying.
Racked with pain, Voldemort raised his wand against Snape.
"Avada…"
"Expelliarmus!"
Voldemort was thrown backwards. Snape scrambled to his
feet and looked around. Harry stood
there, his wand out. Snape saw Draco
with him and surmised that the other had freed him.
"Crucio!" Voldemort bellowed, hitting Snape square in the
stomach.
Snape hit the ground, but refused to cry out in
pain. Voldemort cursed him again and
again.
"Sectumsempra!" Harry yelled, cursing Voldemort, who was
tyhrown backwards, but not before he wordlessly caused Harry and Draco's wands
to go flying.
Harry knelt down to Snape and took his hand. "I'm sorry, I…"
"Don't
get mushy on me now, Potter."
Voldemort stood.
"I may die, but I'll take you all with me!"
Snape struggled to his feet and stood in front of
Harry and Draco.
"Ohh how
touching," Voldemort sneered.
"Ready to die for these brats, Severus? Tragic really, since once I'm through with you they'll be the
next to go."
"Avada
Kedavra!"
But the curse had not come from Voldemort's wand as
the Dark Lord fell dead. The trio
looked over to see Lucius Malfoy, standing, black wand out.
Harry was dumbfounded.
"Father…" Draco blurted.
Lucius lowered his wand. "It became clear to me when he started using you,
Draco. He was using all of us. I was a fool."
Harry just realised Lucius had saved his life, saved
all their lives.
"But you
were the one who weakened him, Severus," Lucius said. "To that I owe a debt of
gratitude."
"That
was your plan all along wans't it?" Harry asked Snape.
"Finally
catching on, eh, Potter."
"I take
back what I said … I'm still angry with you, but hate is an awfully strong word."
"Touched, Potter."
"So what
will you do now? I can tell the
Ministry of Magic that-"
"Still
too many questions," Snape said.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappear, at least for a while."
"Where
will you go?"
"Somewhere private."
"I never
thought I'd find myself saying this, but good luck."
Snape gave a nod, before he apparated away.
It was not long before the Aurors and the Ministry of
Magic were on the scene. Harry told them of Snape's deeds.
"Where
is he now?" Rufus demanded.
"Who
knows?"
Rufus eyed Harry who shrugged and went to join Tonks
and Lupin.
"It
won't be long before the other Death Eaters are found and brought to justice,
And Lucius' actions may even vindicate him," Lupin said. "Harry, you truly have no idea where
Severus has gone?"
"None, I
swear."
"Well I
hope he'll be all right."
"If I
know Snape, he knows how to take care of himself."
As for Severus Snape, it would be a long time before
anyone would see him again.
*