The Master Plan

Chapter 40: Undone and Done

The man in the bed was not Remus.

This wasn't Remus Lupin; it was a complete stranger. And that meant Voldemort still had Lupin. And Severus had gone and picked this guy up and brought him back here, so they must have meant Severus to find him. Which meant they knew what the Potions Master really was--and they'd set a trap.

"Oh, shit! McGonagall, get over here!" he heard himself shriek. Okay, Potter, get it together. Maybe they didn't trick Snape at all. He did keep dropping hints that he expected something to happen... But Harry didn't honestly think he expected this.

McGonagall took a deep breath after seeing the man, and announced in the fruity voice she used when she was upset, "I shall contact the headmaster." She immediately walked briskly away, and Harry was reminded forcefully of an older Hermione--calm, cool, and logical in the face of fire. And so utterly, utterly wrong to take charge of situations like this.

Snape was out with the Death Eaters, the Death Eaters knew he was a spy, Dumbledore was on the other side of the country, and Lupin was still in captivity, on a night with a full moon. "Shit, shit, shit!" He'd promised Snape he'd be a good boy. He swore he'd stay at the school, no matter what. He couldn't let anything happen to Snape--but if he rushed out without thinking, trying to play the hero again, the man would probably die. His heart lurched. Not Snape. Not so soon after Sirius. Not again.

He tore through the castle, barreling toward Gryffindor Tower. Once there, he shook Ron roughly awake. "Get up get up get up," he grunted at him. "Get dressed and meet me in the common room--I'll go wake Hermione." It was probably a daydream of most of the males at Hogwarts to sneak into the girls' bedroom in the middle of the night, but Harry wasn't into that, and it wasn't the right time, anyhow. He practically dragged Hermione out of bed and back to meet Ron.

"...and so it isn't Lupin at all and I don't know what to do!" he finished desperately, and Ron looked tired and confused, while Hermione seemed to be weighing their options.

"He might have expected this," she allowed after a few moments. "It's clear he expected something. But I don't think this was exactly it, or he wouldn't have put so much effort into Lupin. Harry...I think this will have to be your call. This is very likely a trap; with as much time as you've been spending with Snape lately, it can't have been that hard to figure out that you two didn't hate each other. So. I really, really hate to say this, but I think Voldemort wants to kill you tonight."

"When doesn't he?" retorted Ron.

"My point is," Hermione continued, ruffled, "that you know you're taking that chance if you go after him. Only you can say if that chance is worth taking. I just...I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want to do something stupid, but I don't want my best friend to have to live with the guilt if they kill Snape, and I was the reason you didn't go to him. And we are better at all this than we were last time--we've had Snape to teach us Defense. But like I said," she added shyly, "it's up to you."

Harry was frozen. He'd hoped Hermione would just tell him what to do--he didn't want this responsibility, not anymore. Snape told him not to. Snape didn't want Harry wasted on him. Snape wanted Harry to stay here. The man would probably never forgive Harry if Harry died trying to save him. Maybe he would hate the boy, even. But perhaps at least Snape would still be alive to feel hate. That was enough for Harry.

"I'm going," he announced softly. "If the two of you would tell--"

"Tell, schmell," Ron snapped, "we're going with you."

"Ron, if something happened to you--"

"We know the risks," Ron muttered. "Just like Sirius did. And Harry, I reckon I can tell you just what else he was thinking that night. He knew he could die, all right, but he knew you needed him. And it was worth it, Harry. Because he thought you were worth it. That's what friendship is. You'd do the same for me. You did, that time with Ginny."

Harry swallowed thickly, blinking back tears. He had to clear his throat a few times before managing a rusty, "Thanks, mate. Good friends...best friends...friends as good as you guys are...wow. I don't...just...thanks."

Ron rolled his eyes, and Hermione was leaning on the redhead, grinning a little. "Sometimes if there's a conflict between logic and love...it's worth going with love," she said softly. "You guys taught me that."

They stood awkwardly for a moment, before Harry took charge of the situation. "So...ready to go do our death-defying stuff?"

"Eh, same old, same old, for us," Ron replied.

"Right," Hermione nodded. "We have a cranky old Potions Master to save. And a werewolf."

"Yeah, don't forget him," Ron responded. "Remember; werewolves are people, too!"

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They crept carefully through Hogwarts, going slowly enough to be quiet, but as quickly as they dared. Hermione had suggested the first thing they do was see what they could find out by looking in on McGonagall, since it hardly made sense for them to go risking their lives if the whole situation had already been resolved.

They had invoked their Blurring Charms, and stopped outside the infirmary when they heard the woman's voice. She sounded tired. "I don't believe there is anything to be done," she was saying quietly to someone. "Albus will do what he can, but we are not hopeful. It is obvious that they put a great deal of thought into this scheme. Severus is not easily taken in. Well, it really was only a matter of time before they suspected something."

There was a muffled reply, and Harry truly wished for his cloak, so that all three of them could have shared it, and he could see Ron and Hermione's faces right now. They were really no longer small enough to fit under it together, anyway. Still, he felt strangely alone, being unable to look at his friends. Then McGonagall's voice broke in again, distracting him. "...was told he must bring Harry tonight. Well, of course it was unthinkable. They both would have been killed. He assured us that he would merely be...punished, but I cannot believe this will not be the last time Voldemort allows the man to fail him. The thing I worry most about is the fact that they're so close. It's extremely upsetting to know that the Dark Lord has managed to set up shop in our own Forest--that close to Hogwarts! If not for Severus, we might never have known."

Harry was having difficulty breathing, and reached out blindly, trying to connect with Ron and Hermione. Tugging quietly, he tried to let them know they needed to move. When the were well enough away from the room, Hermione softly pointed out, "Dumbledore is doing what he can. Surely he--"

"He went," Harry whispered. "They told him to bring me to them, and he went without me--even though he knew what they would do. And he thinks he can handle it, but he doesn't know about Lupin. They're going to let Lupin kill him. Lupin won't be able to help himself, and then, when he realizes what he's done--"

"They probably won't bother with that," Ron commented in a flat voice. "They'll either just wait until he's served his purpose, and then give him a silver bullet for payment, or they'll keep him around to feed other people to on the full moon. I'm with Harry. We can't just walk away from this," he added.

Hermione looked at them for a long moment. "We're well trained in the art of stealth, I suppose," she said. She let out a shaky breath. "We can see if we can get close enough to find out what's going on, and leave if they don't need us. And if they do need us...we'll do what we can. All right?"

Harry hesitated. "Are you guys sure you want to come? After what happened to you last time..." he trailed off, shifting his weight uncomfortably

"Harry, don't think of that now. And don't feel guilty. We aren't even doing this for you, exactly. We're doing this for Lupin, and for Snape. We're doing this because we're Gryffindors, and that's what Gryffindors do. Right?"

Ron and Harry nodded, and they reactivated their Charms, ghosting out into the night.

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They passed Hagrid's hut, dark and empty while he and Fang were out doing something for the Order. They entered the Forbidden Forest, which seemed much quieter and darker than it normally was. They started with slow sweeps of the perimeter, working their way in deeper. They went past the grounds Snape had used to train them, and Harry felt his resolve harden as he remembered the exercises the man had put them through. He had readied them for times like this. And he was Snape--demanding and relentless. Harry knew he had prepared them well.

Deep in the heart of the Forest, past every place they had been before--beyond where they'd encountered centaurs, spiders, and Grawp, they finally had some indication they were on the right track. There were yells up ahead, and they moved toward the sound with greater certainty. Then a dim maroon light penetrated the branches ahead. Harry stopped when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Wards," Hermione whispered. They paused. "Specillum Sparsonis," she hissed, and a sprinkling of dusty gold light fell from the tip of her wand, spreading a short ways across the forest floor. A web of glowing beams stood out--the Death Eaters' wards to insure no one stumbled across their part of the woods. It was much more complex than any of the wards Snape had shown them.

"Mutare," Harry murmured, and the beams began shifting and changing, rearranging themselves into a new pattern--one that would bend around them.

"Good one, Harry," Ron muttered.

They slipped closer and closer to the yells. It was very difficult to tell what was going on. Someone was shouting at someone else to keep back, or maybe to keep someone else back. Another person was screaming unintelligible orders--Bellatrix, it sounded like. The sound of a werewolf snarling and snapping filled the background, and above all was Voldemort's high, cold voice was directing his Death Eaters.

"You fool, you fool, get him; he is merely a man on a broom!" An explosion rang throughout the woods, and then a flash of purple. "Force the traitor closer! I refuse to wait until he is rescued!"

The trio cautiously peered around a tree. There was a small clearing before them--not much of a gathering place, just a little, strange fire and a fenced-in enclosure. Harry looked closer. It seemed at first to be a regular chain-link fence, the kind you could buy in any Muggle hardware store. It seemed very odd--especially because at one end there was a monstrous werewolf, tossing its head and biting at the ropes being shot at it from someone's wand. They weren't catching the werewolf, but they did, at least, keep him distracted from the man at the other end of the enclosure.

Snape had his back pressed into the links. His chin was high, but his posture was defensive. It was no surprise that he had no wand. One of the Death Eaters aimed a spell at his back, and he stumbled forward. The wolf lunged at him, and a spell from outside the fence hit its nose, driving it back.

"Get the one on the broom!" Bellatrix shrieked, following her own advice with a blast toward the sky. They could see a shadow darting around above the fence, dodging spells and keeping Lupin at bay.

"Ah, Harry, I think I shall require your assistance," a quiet voice said nearby, and the three students jumped in surprise.

"D--Dumbledore?" Harry whispered. "How can you see us with our Blurring Charms on?" He couldn't even see himself--just a vague outline of his hand if he waved it in front of his face fast enough. It had taken some getting used to.

"We really haven't time for that now. You do understand the situation, do you not? Voldemort has learned the truth of Severus. He and Remus shall both die unless something is done quickly. Kingsley is preventing Lupin from killing the man, but he cannot continue to do so without eventually being hit."

"Then why don't you do something, sir?" Hermione's voice inquired.

"I intend to. However, Voldemort is taking steps to prevent me, personally, entering the clearing, or performing any magic to affect its occupants. The spell he is using takes a great deal of concentration, but is very effective." He lowered his chin, and Harry saw his eyes gleam in the darkness.

"So if Voldemort were distracted..." he said quietly.

"Then I would be free to extract Lupin from the cage. It must be done quickly, before he is injured severely." Harry thought he was only talking about Kingsley, but then he saw that wherever Severus was touching the fence, it shone with a strange light. "The fence is enchanted silver. There is Aconite sprinkled across the ground. Before long, Lupin will go mad with pain, and attack Severus regardless of any spells that strike him." Harry and the others were revolted. There was no surface Remus could touch that would not cause him agony.

Harry took a deep breath. "What do I have to do?"

The headmaster looked grave. "I cannot send your image into the clearing, as I did during the Hogsmead incident. You would actually have to enter the clearing. I believe your friends, Shacklebolt and I could distract the other Death Eaters, and draw them away. However, there would still be a great danger to you. You would be a decoy in the worst, most literal sense. I have no right to ask it of you, but I do not believe Voldemort's attention could be held by anything else. You are his obsession. This is...a difficult decision. I do not wish to lose Remus and Severus, but neither do I wish to lose you. I...will make the attempt to keep all three of you from harm, but there is risk involved. Will you do it, Harry?"

"No, Harry," Hermione whispered. "They wouldn't want you to!"

Harry thought for a long moment. "But I would want me to, if I looked back and knew I hadn't done anything to help. And Severus--God, Hermione. I don't want to live without him." He watched at the man was sweeping his hand across the ground, trying to clear a place for the werewolf to stand without incurring pain, even as the creature was being held back by Shacklebolt's maneuvers. "I--of course I'll do it."

Dumbledore nodded once. "Hermione, Ron, I want you to move to the east side of the clearing. I believe if you used that excellent spell for relaying and amplifying energy, you might send your voices to the north in a misleading direction. Call for Harry; tell him that Snape is not worth it, and that he must come back. Try to sound as though you are attempting to be quiet, but are desperate for him to hear you. Do you understand? I will go behind the fence, and step out the moment Voldemort's spell is dropped," he told Harry. "He cannot both keep his mind on you and continue to weave such a complicated charm. I wish you to escape at the first opportunity--leave the clearing and Apparate to the edge of Hogwarts Grounds. I believe I shall be able to distract him long enough for that."

Everyone moved off to take their places, and Harry waited nervously. The night seemed quieter, even though the Death Eaters were still yelling, and sending hexes at Kingsley. Suddenly, one of the Death Eaters shouted for everyone to be quiet. "I heard something," he insisted. "It sounded like a little girl, looking for someone."

Harry saw Voldemort smile. "That is Potter's trademark, is it not? Leading his little friends into mortal peril? Making sure those he loves are killed?" Harry stiffened at the words. "Potter? I do know that you are out there somewhere. I've plundered your lover's mind--I know all about your little--romance," he spat. "Would you like to come out now, or wait until Severus is werewolf fodder?" The man pointed his wand at Snape, but did not say any spell.

"Hermione! Watch out!" Ron's voice floated to them, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. Harry shuddered--God, how he hoped that was merely good acting. The Death Eaters seemed restless now, unable to stand still. It was clear the sound of someone in pain agitated them. Lucius Malfoy, his long blond hair glinting in the moonlight, strode back and forth, legs working smoothly. His eyes shifted rapidly, his body tense. Obviously, his punishment had not had any lasting physical affects--the man was like a great cat, muscles supple and strong, and he exuded the aura of repressed carnal power. He contrasted strangely with his master, who was so thin and frail looking, but whose very presence scintillated with madness and dark magic.

"Find Potter," Voldemort finally ordered. "Bring him to me. Bellatrix, stay and deal with the werewolf and his little friends." The other Death Eaters faded into the night, and Harry stepped out from behind the tree.

"I heard you wanted to see me?" he asked, not letting his Blurring Charm go.

"Harry," he heard Snape groan, his voice languishing with dismay.

Voldemort's eyes darted wildly. "Bellatrix," he snarled. The woman sent a flash of green light in Harry's general direction, but it went wide past his left shoulder. He sent his voice to the other side of the clearing.

"You're going to have to do better than that," he told her flatly. She sent a curse in that direction but, of course, it encountered nothing.

"If you fail me, woman, you shall know torment the likes of which has never been seen," Voldemort hissed at her. His wand was still raised, and Harry saw that a trickle of something was coming out of it; it looked like a light mist, which must have been protecting the clearing from interference. It was plain that Voldemort was not going to be distracted so easily.

Closing his eyes for a long moment, Harry gathered his strength. Finally, he opened them and revoked the Blurring Charm. He made sure to keep Voldemort between himself and the female Death Eater. Voldemort hissed, the sound a mixture of satisfaction and frustration. Harry raised his wand. "Are you going to kill me, boy? Do you really think yourself capable? He's here," he snarled at the woman. "Kill him!"

Bellatrix darted around her master, but Harry got as close to the man as he could, and stepped to the side, still keeping the Dark Lord's body between himself and Sirius's killer. "Master! I cannot reach him!" She came closer, trying to lean around the man.

"Vulnuseris Aspere!" Harry shouted, and Voldemort bellowed with pain and rage. "Don't come any closer," Harry warned the woman. "I could kill him like this, since he refuses to use his wand. Do you like pain, Tom?" Harry taunted, using the man's Christian name. "You sure seem to enjoy inflicting it on others. Don't you like having a taste of your own medicine? Vulnuseris Aspere," he repeated, and watched as the man tried to jerk away, his clothing torn and bloody from the invisible lashes. "I'm not enjoying this," he added quietly. "But I'm not above it, either." He cast the painful spell once more, and this time held it until the man howled and aimed his wand at Harry.

"Crucio!" he snarled, dropping the protective spell. "Do you enjoy this, Potter?" He held the spell as Harry fell, his wand dropping from fingers curled in a rictus of agony.

Harry was unaware of Dumbledore levitating Lupin out of the cage while Kingsley struggled, using a spell to attempt to calm the wolf down, because the only thing Harry was conscious of was pain. He didn't know how long he writhed on the ground, screaming, before the spell was removed again. "Harry--oh, God!" he heard Snape cry, and looked up to see Bellatrix hit the Potions Master with a similar curse.

"Albus!" Shacklebolt cried, and Harry saw the werewolf that was Lupin run the tall man down before staggering into the trees, off into the same direction that Ron and Hermione were hidden.

Dumbledore helped the man back to his feet and quickly mended his wounds. "Go after him," Harry heard him order, before turning back to Voldemort and the scene at hand. "Scindere," he called out, waving his wand, and the silver fence ripped apart on one side.

Before Snape could exit the cage, though, Voldemort snapped, "Emend Calfaco," and the links meshed together once more, turning red hot and melting a seam along the break. "You meddler. I should have killed you years ago." He shot a hex at the headmaster, who calmly blocked it. Harry reached for his wand to help, but Bellatrix kicked it out of the way, laughing. "Stop playing games," the Dark Lord thundered. "Get rid of the old fool--I'm going to make Potter suffer before he dies."

Bellatrix immediately cast the killing curse at Dumbledore, who stepped out of its way. "Oh, I need to be in closer range, do I?" she smiled gleefully. She stepped forward, casting the curse again. The old man managed to elude it once more, but it was closer. The Death Eater laughed.

Dumbledore hurled a Sleeping Spell at her, but she blocked it handily, taking another several steps forward, and screaming, "Avada Kedavra!" another time. "There is no way to block the killing curse," she reminded the headmaster, and Albus knew it as well; he had no choice but to keep moving. Harry saw with despair that he was being driven back into the forest.

Voldemort's high-pitched laughter rang out, and he sang out, "Crucio!" and Harry's world was reduced to agony, until the fire in his nerve endings made him want to beg for this to stop, but he was beyond the ability even to form words. His scar was full of icy pain, and he felt blood trickling down his forehead. Finally the pain subsided, and he shuddered beneath the lunatic laughter and awful red eyes.

"Stop, damn you!" he could hear Snape demanding in the background. "He's just a boy, you unbalanced bedlamite! You would not DARE do this if I had my wand! You are a fucking coward! A filthy, worthless coward! You'd never face me like a man! You've always been afraid--frightened of Dumbledore, unmanned at the thought of death--"

Voldemort's lips twisted, but then he laughed. "See how your knight in shining armor attempts to rescue you? How very transparent of you, Severus." Then his chilling smile broadened. "I intend to punish both of you--how if I did both at once? Killed two birds with one stone..." Harry weakly tried to get up, but the man caught him by his robes and dragged him over to the fence.

He could see Severus reaching out for him, trying to touch him. "Harry, hold on. Be strong. The others will be here any moment." But Harry doubted this--the pain had made it seem like they'd already been there for hours, and no one had come. Plus, he could hear screams and explosions in the forest, as the Death Eaters fought Harry's allies.

Voldemort seemed unconcerned with all of this. "Do you love him, boy? Hmm? Answer me!" He kicked Harry in the ribs, and the boy twisted away.

"Yes," Harry gasped, grimacing. "I do love him. Do you realize what that means? He is loved. You can't even say the same. No one could ever love you--you're vile."

"Really?" Voldemort sneered in response. "And would you love him still, if you truly knew him? Because I don't believe you would. You have no idea--and believe me, Severus has done as many...'vile things' as I myself have. Would you like to know what they were? Let me show you."

"No, please," Severus croaked, but the man ignored him.

"Legilimens Transitonis!" Suddenly, Harry's mind was flooded with memories that were not his own. Snape's childhood, Snape's adolescence, all of Snape's actions and reactions were there in his head. Harry was quickly becoming confused--he was no longer certain he could tell where his own recollections ended and the Potions Master's began, and ever more were crashing down into his consciousness.

Here was a young Severus, hiding under a table, grimacing with fear and hatred as a man's legs stalked past, the end of a belt trailing threateningly from one hand. And here was an older Severus, fighting with Harry's father, getting the worse end of a Cringing Curse, and looking enraged and humiliated. And then there were visions of an even older Snape, standing beside Lucius Malfoy as he tortured a Muggle, and casting a killing curse while a younger Voldemort looked on. Then Harry saw him begging at the hem of the Dark Lord's cloak, then sobbing, broken on the arm of a younger Dumbledore, then going inscrutably through the motions as a spy, allowing the mayhem and misery to take place, reporting to two masters, and watching, horrified, as the Lestranges sent the Longbottoms into a descent of madness. Here Severus stood watching Harry, himself, the young child of a long dead, long hated enemy...there were too many images, cluttering and confusing. Severus as a Death Eater was terrifying; the things he'd done, horrendous. It was clear Harry was expected to be revolted. Unexpectedly, Harry found himself aching with empathy, that the man had had such an exhausting, miserable life.

He heard Severus moaning in the background. "Bastard...stop..." The memories untwined from Harry's own, and the boy felt his head start to clear.

Voldemort laughed again. "Too degrading for you, Severus? Ah, but I should think you'd welcome the opportunity to see whether the boy truly loved you." He continued to chuckle a little, and Harry saw, beyond the man's legs, a silvery something in the woods, but it merely flashed and was gone. No one else noticed it, and nothing happened, so it may as well never have existed, for all the good it did--whatever it was. Voldemort continued taunting the Potions Master, unheeding. "You must have known he could never love you...who could ever love a disgusting creature like you? Slimy, ugly, gawky thing that you are..."

"Shut up," Harry rasped in ire.

"Be quiet, Harry," he heard Severus murmur. "You have no power. Death is nothing. The power to kill--it doesn't approach the power to create life. You're nothing,'" he added in an overly loud voice.

Harry knew that it was supposed to distract the tyrant, but Voldemort trained his wand on Harry and maliciously said, "Crucio," once more.

Pain, pain, God--the pain... He couldn't stand it, couldn't keep this up much longer. It was like he was being ripped apart, flayed alive, boiled or incinerated. His scar was an excruciating brand, and it was all too much...he wasn't sure he was remembering to breathe.

It all receded again, and he dimly heard Severus's exclamations of horror and Voldemort's hateful, calculated insults, but couldn't quite concentrate on the words. He wasn't certain he wanted to. All he wanted was to go to a place where there wasn't any more pain like that. "Crucio!" God! Please! Merciful God...Breathe, Harry, remember to breathe...

Severus wanted to scream in frustration as Harry thrashed on the ground, eyes clouded by suffering. He did not appear to be seeing any longer, and the only movements he made were the jerking contortions induced by the curse. "You're going to kill him," he whispered hoarsely, and the Dark Lord gave a small smile of triumph.

He took the curse off again for a moment, watching the boy gasp, stubbornly holding on to his life and sanity. "That is my intention," he responded. "Crucio!" The boy was racked with searing fire once more, his teeth clenched against the desperate throes of torment. Voldemort cast the curse again and again, taking great pleasure in the whimpers of pain and twisting contortions. He took the spell off and examined the youth.

"Are you ready to die, Harry Potter?"

"N--no," Harry croaked, and the torture began again. Harry heard a prolonged scream, and realized it had issued from his own lips. "God, please, stop," he choked out, sobbing, when next Voldemort removed the curse.

"I think not," the man replied, and cast it again. In the midst of his affliction, Harry saw a silvery shape barrel out of the darkness and collide with the Dark Lord, who was knocked to the ground.

"Avada Kedavra," Lucius Malfoy grunted at the man.

Voldemort rolled, the green light sending a up spray of dirt where his chest had been. "You fucking Judas," he spat, leaping up. "You think they will honor you when this is done, you turn-coat? You think you will be rewarded?"

Lucius laughed, shaking his head and making it seem as though he had a great, silvery lion's mane. "You think I am doing this for them? I. Am. A. MALFOY. You took my heir from me. Do you still expect me to be grateful? To fear you?" He laughed again, and the sound was empty and hollow, echoing through the woods. "I have entirely too little left to lose. Avada Kedavra!" he repeated, his face twisted to bare his perfect teeth.

Voldemort eluded the spell once more, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him. Furtively, the boy tried to regain his feet.

Severus watched in trepidation as Harry struggled. They boy managed to make it to his knees me before falling again, his body convulsing. He had never seen anyone save the Longbottoms endure so much of the Cruciatus Curse. How could Harry possibly survive with his sanity intact? Snape ignored the other men, who were directing curses swiftly and heatedly toward one another. All that mattered was Harry. The youth wrenched himself up again, managing to stand on two feet, although he was unsteady and trembling violently. "Severus," he whispered hoarsely.

Harry could barely stay upright. The effort of balancing, while the blood rushed in his ears and the earth called to him in her sweet, siren's voice, telling him to come to her and be still, was almost too much for him to bear. He fingered the gift Severus had given him. An hour really wasn't very long, but he could take no chances in this case--he couldn't cast several hours back, only to learn it could not handle the strain. Whatever else happened, he had to do what he could to save the Snape. His life, Hogwarts, the entire wizarding world--they were all just a colorless backdrop. Nothing mattered so much as the Potions Master. There was only one moment within the last hour that could be changed that could do the man any good. And Lucius had Voldemort distracted. Harry would have to do what he could. Weakly, he managed to invoke the spell.

Severus watched as the fence split itself, leaving a clear opening from his confines. He looked back to Harry, and recognized what the youth had done. God, no. It shouldn't have been--not for him. He did not deserve this thing. There would be a better time--soon. He should not have done this. He saw the boy give him a smile sapped of all energy. The boy tried to take a step toward him, and Severus saw Voldemort turn and issue a green light at the back of Harry's head. "HARRY!" he screamed, knowing that it was already too late--that there was simply no way the boy could react quickly enough.

Harry, whose foot could not be lifted high enough to walk correctly, was in the process of trying to navigate a branch in front of him when Voldemort cast the curse. He was surprised to find himself on his knees next to his wand.

Snape blinked. He tripped. Oh my God. He tripped. The killing curse went over his head because he tripped. He fought a wild urge to laugh, instead calling, "Harry, watch out!" Voldemort was still trying to aim curses at the boy, even while fighting Lucius. He sent a particularly damaging hex at his former follower, and it drove the man to his knees, blood leaking from behind clenched teeth.

Harry took a deep breath, feeling the rage and fear and anger simmering in his blood, sucking the magic up, swelling him with power. He could kill Voldemort now. He could kill anyone. He was a God. All he had to do was cast one spell. Just one. He could barely see his own hand, tightly clenched around his wand. It seemed to be enveloped in a dark fire.

"One more time, shall we?" Voldemort murmured, turning to Harry. There was that same dark fire within the madman's eyes, and Harry realized that he was feeding it. "You won't make it through another round, and I should dearly like to see you broken. Crucio!"

Harry let go of the power, retaining just enough to gasp, "Bibere Verbosa," at the same moment, and Voldemort looked stunned when his spell had no affect on the boy. With a roar, Lucius Malfoy launched himself at the man from behind, and they grappled vigorously with one another. Suddenly, a shout sounded from outside the clearing. It sounded as though the cavalry had arrived, and the Death Eaters were retreating.

Severus had navigated through the fence, found his own wand near the fire, and aimed a hex at Voldemort's back, causing the man to jerk in pain. Voldemort, realizing he was now surrounded by enemies, made a quick choice. His face distorted by rage, he screamed, "I'm not fucking done with you, Potter!" and Disapparated. With a hiss and a hateful glance at Severus, Lucius Malfoy did the same, leaving Harry alone with the Potions Master.

Harry looked up at the man, feeling the weakness suffocating him. He knew that soon his entire body would shut down; his heart already felt sluggish and ineffectual. God, Snape had not wanted him wasted like this. He would never forgive him. Before the man could speak, Harry shuddered pronouncedly, still suffering after-effects from the Cruciatus Curse. "...m sorry," he choked, when he had some control of his muscles.

"What?" Snape gasped. He'd been busy readying the boy for the next seizure, which he knew would come soon. Alice Longbottom had only convulsed once or twice while suffering the Cruciatus Curse, but had seizures for much longer, afterward. He thought he was going to be sick.

"...failed you..." Harry managed weakly. "...failed everyone...so sorry...tried so hard...couldn't be...what...needed me...to...be..." A tear leaked out, sliding down towards his ear.

Severus was appalled. "Harry, that isn't true at all, you--" The boy began having another fit, and Snape slid his hand behind his head so Harry wouldn't knock himself out.

"Prof--Oh my GOD!" Hermione dropped to her knees beside the man, her face scratched and bloody. "What happened--no--what can I do to help?"

"Find something to stick between his teeth," Snape hissed, "before he bites his own tongue off. Where's the Headmaster?"

"With Tonks," she promptly replied. "Almost disemboweled by Avery. This stick is filthy--shit--we need something--"

"Here--give me that--next to your foot." When Harry shuddered into a more relaxed state again, Snape pried his jaw open and shoved something in his mouth, careful to make certain the boy hadn't swallowed his tongue. "He can bite down as hard as he likes on that."

Harry was beginning to shake again, arching backwards, his heels gouging the forest floor. Harry's teeth dug into the man's wand. "Has he any chance?" Hermione whispered.

Snape didn't want to say no, so he said nothing. Even if his body did not fail, his psyche surely would. The Longbottoms had not suffered as long, he was certain. How could anyone go through what Harry just had, and still keep their mind? As an afterthought, he slipped off the ring Harry had given him, and forced the boy's fist open so he could place it on one of Harry's fingers. It would help with the aftershocks, at least. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to stay in reality, when they've been subjected to that," he sadly commented. He shook his head. "It starts out as a spell to harm the physical body, but what it breaks is person's sanity. The mind simply retreats from the world." They were silent a moment, as Harry's violent spasms diminished into quavers and twitches. "Get Dumbledore--no; he isn't skilled enough at healing. Find Pomfrey--wherever she is."

Hermione stood. "You can't Apparate?" she questioned.

"Not while he's like this," Snape responded shortly, and the witch hesitated.

"Severus...if there was anyone that could make Harry want to stay...or want to come back to reality...it would be you," she told him quietly, and vanished.

Harry shivered a little, blinking. His mouth was slack, and Severus's saliva-coated wand was spilled to the ground. The man moved to put it back, but he heard the boy's harsh, dry-throated voice say, "Sev..."

"H--Harry?" The boy's eyes were covered with a film of agony, but Severus thought he still saw a spark of lucidity there. "Harry...I'm here." Gently, he cupped the youth's jaw and peered into his eyes. "Stay with me, Harry. Please." He swallowed. "I...I love you." Something in those green eyes flashed, and Severus continued with greater confidence. "I don't think I could begin to express how much I love you. It's been building all year, since that moment you came to me, that moment your laughter broke the enmity between us..." Harry's limbs quaked again, and the light seemed to fade from his eyes. Severus desperately went on. "I don't care if the world ends, so long as I have you in my arms. You are worth it. You were worth everything--every moment, every sacrifice, and every injury. Don't blame yourself for tonight. I made many poor decisions in my past; this is merely a culmination of those. You saw the things I did, the person I was. You looked right into me and saw the bitter, horrible, disgusting person I am, and all of the despicable, atrocious, unforgivable acts I committed. Harry; I'm so sorry. I could never ask you to love me still, after having seen that. All I want is for you to stay. Please, God. Please. Harry." He pressed his forehead to the boy's own. "I love you so very much."

Soft lashes brushed against his lids, and he pulled back a little, to see Harry valiantly holding on, raging against the dying of the light. Those lips smiled a little. "...love..." he whispered. "...forgive..."

Severus stared. "You...forgive me?"

Harry swallowed several times, and Snape cast a wetting spell on his sleeve, and let the boy suck the moisture from it. He seemed to have a stronger grasp on reality, and continued. "Yes...forgive you, and...God...all you've been and done...so hard for you... I couldn't have rejected you because of that. You are so strong...so incredible. I love you all the more, for knowing everything you were...everything that happened...for you to become...Severus Snape."

"Do you still?" the man whispered.

"I will love you forever," Harry asserted, managing another small smile.

Severus took a gulping of air, finding he had not been breathing. Tears threatened to fall as he fought for something to say--something worthy of Harry, but for once, his inexhaustible vocabulary failed him. He shook his head, cradling the boy in his arms.

"I am undone."