Devils and Angels

Heroes and Demons


It had been nearly two weeks since that night, and Severus clearly avoided his young love from that moment on. They still shared chambers during that time, and Snape still continued to teach Harry everything he knew of defence. The difference was he had become distant, and snappish. He would wait until the wee hours of the morning to retire. By then Harry would be fast asleep, and it was another way for Snape to avoid his lover. He was creating a gulf between them, and what was worst he was doing it deliberately for he couldn’t help himself. Severus was reacting the only way he knew how – with unfocused anger. He had lashed out at Harry intentionally causing arguments in an effort to drive him away, and the last one involved much name-calling and cruel words. Snape left taking a few possessions with him and moved back into the dungeons leaving a furious and very confused Harry behind. That was four days ago, and Severus felt as if something had died within him, but he figured it would be best to allow that something to die now than to wait and prolong it. He loved Harry, but he knew it would be pointless to even hope the man would continue to return that love once the deed was done.

Fortunately his old office had not been taken over by the new Potions instructor, and he sat in the cold dungeons behind the desk that had been his for so many years where he pondered his life and his relationship with Harry. He smirked to himself in disgust as he realized just what a pair of screw-ups they both really were. Potter always came out on top by sheer dumb luck, and he himself had been so weak-willed as to let others manipulate his life that it didn’t even begin to be funny. If he had not been weak, he would have told them all to sod off, and he would have taken Harry and put Hogwarts, Voldemort, and all else as far behind them as possible. Once again, when it came to major decisions in life, his propensity for poor judgement and witless self-destruction sprang forth condemning them both to misery.

His reverie was broken when Professor Flitwick burst into the office. The diminutive man wore a look of horror as he said, “Severus, Minerva sent me to get you! Hogwarts is under attack! Death Eaters have gotten inside!”

With a blank look, Severus Snape stared at the other man not fully comprehending the situation.

“Severus!” Flitwick shouted and pounded his small fists on the desk to get the man’s attention, “Death Eaters are attacking Hogwarts itself – from inside! We need you!”

He blinked twice; not wanting to believe the time had come. A chill travelled up his spine, and he quickly rose from his desk. Retrieving his wand from the depths of his robes, he pointed it at his friend and long-time chess partner, and stupefied him. He felt bile rising in his throat; he clenched his teeth and fought it back down. Moving swiftly around the desk, he stepped over Filius’ prone form and ran into the corridor.

Snape saw Hermoine Granger and Luna Lovegood in the hall outside the office. He paused only long enough to tell them Flitwick had collapsed, and that the man needed to be seen to. He turned on his heel and headed directly toward the sounds of battle.

“Well, that’s three that won’t be in the middle of this,” he muttered to himself as he hurtled along the corridors shoving people out of his path.

Grabbing a Death Eater by the elbow, he whirled the masked man around, “Malfoy - where?”

“Astronomy Tower!” A black clad finger pointed the way then the man resumed the battle.

Severus took the spiral stairs two and three steps at a time, pushing and practically clawing his way up. His heart pounded, and a dull roaring began to sound in his ears drowning out the shouts of rage, and screams of agony that floated upward from the main floors. His throat had become tight and dry the second he thought of Harry, but Snape couldn’t allow himself that weakness – not now. The former Potions Master knew the younger man would be able to defend himself as long as he kept his head, and too much depended on what now had to be done. He turned back and saw two prefects racing up behind him, and the dark wizard stupefied them as he had done Flitwick knowing that any Death Eaters would not bother with them and mistake them to be dead.

Bursting out into the open air at the top of the tower, he saw young Malfoy looking quite frustrated and unsure. There were also other Death Eaters there as well as that murderous werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. The only respite he felt was in not seeing Harry with the Headmaster, for he knew his lover had went with the old man on some sort of journey. Severus felt blessed not to have the younger man see what he was about to do. Little did he realize that was not to be.

He looked from his mentor who was leaning slumped against the cold stones of the wall, to the four Death Eaters, the Malfoy whelp, and finally to the enraged werewolf. Snape plastered a sneer of disgust on his face when one of the Death Eaters spoke to him apprising him of the matter at hand. He heard another voice that had always been comfortingly familiar, yet this night was different for it had a plea to it.

“Severus…”

Time seemed to stand still as his heart began to beat with a slow violence, yet he said nothing then stepped forward pushing the Malfoy brat out of his way. The tortured wizard stood gazing down at the only man he ever would think of as a father. His eyes must have said, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ for the old man spoke reminding Snape of his sworn duty, “Severus, please…”

The sneer was replaced with the revulsion that filled him over what he had become, and what would happen in the next few seconds. He raised his arm with wand in hand, and pointed it directly at Albus Dumbledore. Snape’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the old wizard’s small nod of approval, then he steeled himself and uttered the words that would change not only his, but countless other lives around him, “Avada Kedavra.”

Severus clenched his teeth once more as he watched the body rise in the air, then fall out of sight over the battlements. His stomach lurched, and remembering what he must do, he grabbed Draco by the nape of his neck and forced him back through the door. The next moments were nothing but a blur to Severus as he and Malfoy dodged knots of combatants as well as ducked curses that flew through the air. Their progress was stalled somewhat, and time still seemed convoluted for Snape.

Meanwhile, outside still atop the tower, the spell Dumbledore had cast upon Harry broke, and the young man was still frozen, but shock was the only thing keeping him in place. The man he had sworn his love to, had murdered another. Severus had taken the life of someone the young man cared about.

“Noooooooo!” Harry howled in despair and rage.

He threw the invisibility cloak that Dumbledore had insisted he wear off to the side just as the last Death Eater was fleeing into the castle, “Petrificous Totallus!”

The Death Eater became as if carved of stone, and fell heavily. Harry quickly jumped over him in pursuit of his traitorous lover. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, horror filled him when he took in the devastation about him, yet onward he pressed. Moans of the wounded wafted through the dust-filled air, and suddenly he was outside racing after Snape and the others. Having confronted Greyback and disabling him, he continued after his quarry. More fell in his wake, and several of the Death Eaters that had been with Snape fell as well. The scene was nothing less than sheer chaos. Bodies were littered everywhere, Voldemort's followers fleeing, and others running pell-mell just to save their own lives. He knocked his own peers out of the way in his determination to catch up with his lover-turned-murder. The young man himself was hit with an unknown curse, and he fell hard onto his face, bloodying his nose. He quickly rose and flung a curse of his own, and was bothered no more.

Jets of brilliant green and fiery red light flew through the cold night air just barely missing him. He ducked and continued to race, and Harry’s lungs ached from the way he punished his body to keep up. He stopped and scanned the grounds, and from the light of Hagrid’s burning hut, he saw them. He sped past the gamekeeper who was in a battle for his own life, and aimed his wand at Severus’ retreating back.

Severus pivoted in time to see the unfortunate image of his distraught lover bearing swiftly down upon him. Rage, and the most terrible of hurts filled the young face he loved. Harry cast a hex at Snape, who easily deflected it.

“No Harry!” Snape cried out, and pushed Malfoy ahead and ordered him to run.

“You murdering bastard! I saw you kill him!” Harry raged and drew back his arm to fling another, more terrible curse, “Cruci…”

Snape blocked the spell twice more, and landed Harry onto his back each time, “Harry don’t!”

Potter jumped to his feet, tears streaming down his face and he attempted to curse Severus again, “Fight back, you coward!”

Harry knew which buttons to push, and the young man pushed them well, “I am not a – coward!” Yet he sneered to himself when he thought just how right Harry was.

The younger wizard raised his arm again, and Snape sent him flying back once more, and Harry leaped to his feet with a roaring snarl.

Severus hissed, “Your father never attacked unless he was surrounded by his friends – and you call me a coward?”

“You bast – stupe…”

“You’ll never be able to do anything unless you keep your mouth shut as well as your mind. You’ve got to think Harry. Now that would be a first, wouldn’t it? Potter actually thinking!” Snape shot back, interrupting the curse.

Harry was about to send another spell, but the most horrendous pain hit him and he fell writhing to the ground. He looked up, and though the younger wizard couldn’t make out what Snape said, the one attacking quickly released him and fled, along with who would now be the wizarding world’s most hated man with Buckbeak hot on his heels. It was a night when ordinary magical folk became heroes in their own right, and a night when others simply became demons. Harry would never forget that night, nor would he forget his lover’s extremely pale face that wore a peculiar expression, and his black eyes that stood out in stark contrast. Their eyes met one more time, and then he was gone.

Once Snape had reached the boundary, he apparated to the designated meeting spot, and grabbed Draco firmly by the elbow then at the same time touched the portkey he had secreted in his pocket. They both disappeared before the few remaining Death Eaters’ very eyes, including the Dark Lord’s own. With that simple act of defiance toward Voldemort, he now had a price from both sides upon his head; but that fact didn’t matter for he would have been dead anyway the second Voldemort discovered what had happened.

“What have you done? Where are we?” Draco was shocked, for he had fully expected to hold an audience with the thing that had once been a bitter boy called Tom Riddle.

They were in a room of moderate size. It was a very shabby looking place indeed, for Snape had only been spared a few days to find what he hoped would be the perfect hiding place, and he had scrounged until he had gathered what he felt they would need to survive. The older man stood with his back to young Malfoy, and quite unexpectedly with a mighty heave of his shoulders, a sob escaped him. Just as quickly as the sudden emotion began, it stopped. He whirled on Draco and advanced on him. He roughly grabbed the now frightened young man by the shoulders and viciously shook him.

“Don’t you understand anything boy?” He barked into the pale face, the briefly shed tears still glistening on his own. “The Dark Lord would have killed you the instant he found out you couldn’t carry out his orders, and he would have killed me for doing it for you, and saving your moronic arse! Our lives are ruined you imbecile!”

He released the frightened young man, and stepped back. His chest rising and falling rapidly several times with the emotions that threatened to over-take him once more, “There’s no place to go, but here. You’ve lost your family, and I’ve lost everything. We’ve no one now. Neither side would have us anymore, other than to see that we die for our betrayals.”

It took him a bit to calm down, and finally he crossed the dingy room, and sat heavily in one of the excessively worn chairs. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and placed his head in his hands.

Draco stared at the man. What Snape had spoken of began to make sense, but the full impact had yet to hit home. Finally gathering enough nerve, he canted his head and asked, “You really love him, don’t you?”

Snape’s head shot up, his reddened eyes narrowed.

“Look I may be stupid, but I’m not blind,” Malfoy said in response.

After a few seconds of silence, Severus answered quietly, “Yes, I do.”

Malfoy’s throat suddenly felt constricted, and his widened eyes began to burn for his brain had assimilated Snape’s earlier words, “I really fucked up this time, didn’t I - sir?”

Snape had returned his head to his hands, and in a weary voice tinged with self-loathing said, “You’re not the only one that has.”


END PART ONE

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Part two, 'As I Walked By Myself' will be posted under 'Devils and Angels' to preserve the continuity of the story. Besides, it will make it much easier to find as well. I do hope you have enjoyed part one.