Enduring Survival

Chapter One:



It was a clearly a tremendous force which had hit the structure, not
only in physical but magical terms, for the spells and enchantments which
guardethe the thick blocks of stone which comprised the castle walls had
guaranteed their impregnability for centuries.  To feel the whole structure
shake as it did could only mean that whoever was assaulting the edifice
had not only formidable Dark Magic at their command, but a sizable attack
force and, undoubtedly, intimate knowledge of where the two should be applied
for maximum effect.



As he hurriedly threw on his clothes there came the soundtwo two more
explosions. sp;Fsp;For a brief moment, after the second, there was the sound
of agonized shrieks and screams, even though this blast seemed curiously
softer than the first.  After the third explosion, by contrast, his
sensitive ears caught the faint sound of cheering and applause.  He was
not particularly surprised, therefore, as he rushed out of his rooms that
there were no further detonations.  He had no doubt that the aggressors
had succeeded in hitting all of their intended targets and were now regrouping
to make a careful and organized invasion of the weakened structure and its
besieged inhabitants.



He wavered for a moment in the hall, debating whether to simply progress
to the Great Hall or to first mais wis way to the Slytherin dormitory.
 He was unsure whether his presence would protect or condemn the students
who had been caught there during the initial attack. There were only two
students of his house remaining at the school over the break, twins in
the third year whose parents were supposedly on holiday in South America.
 As he came to his decision and directed his steps toward the dormitory
he found himself wondering if the mother and father had actually left the
country.  They had always appeared to be rabidly loyal Death Eaters
after all, and he would not be terribly surprised if they were at this moment
part of the contingent mounting the attack.  The thought of parents
willingly sacrificing their children to the Dark Lord\'s greater glory no ger ger sickened him as it once had.  On the other hand, it could be
that, like himself, the parents had been kept in ignorance of the plan to
strike Hogwarts.  Which could only mean the Voldemort viewed them at
best as minor figures, and at worse, as expendable ones.  No, he corrected
himself, he much rather hoped that the Dark Lord found him expendarathrather
than traitorous.  



As he paused in front of the Slytherin dormitory to give the password
that would cause the heavy metal gate to swing open, he felt an icy chill
brush at his shoulder.  Glancing back, he saw that the Bloody Baron
had appeared, in an unusually high state of agitation.  But whether
it was due to concern for Hogwarts or its inhabitants, or simply because he
was excited at the prospect of fighting and bloodshed, he was not sure.



\"There\'s been an attack!\" breathed the Baron.



Snape barely managed to bite back a sarcastic retort along the lines
of: \"Thank you very much for stating the obvious.\"  Instead, he merely
grunted in agreement as he reached down to retrieve his wand from the pocket
of his robe.  Strange, given his usually suspicious nature, that he
had ventured so far without it already.



\"You seem surprised,\" noted his ghostly companin a n a tone of bemused
wonder.



Keeping his wand pointed at the door, Snape turned and regarded the
phantom contemptuously.  \"I am tired of your innuendoes,\" he hissed.
 Although outwardly cordial to each other, as befitted their relationship
as Head and Resident Ghost of the House of Slytherin, he had become quite
annoyed with the Baron of late.  His cryptic comments of the past year
seemed to indicate that he was either unwilling to believe that Snape was
sincerely loyal to Dumbledore or that he had his doubts as to whether Voldemort
regarded him as a truly valuable spy.  Perhaps he meant to imply both.
 At any rate, Snape had found that it was safest to offer no reply to
the Slytherin\'s ghosts insinuations.  The only thing more dangerous
than his current precarious position as a double spy was to admit aloud just
how vulnerable you were.



Barking out the password, he kept his wand held firmly in a defensive
position as the portal swung open.  Inside, the two students were standing
in the middle of the common room, hastily dressed with their trousers pulled
on underneath their nightshirts and their shoes and socks still carried
in their hands.  They stood for a moment, the man and the ghost quickly
examining the room for evidence of invasion as the two boys began shouting
at the top of the lungs, demanding to know what was going on.



\"SILENCE!\" thundered S, si, simultaneously raising his wand and setting
off a large stream of red sparks.  Behind him, he heand ind ignored
the sound of the Baron\'s chuckles.



The boys hastily shut their mouths and stood staring at him as he continued
his search of the chamber.  Satisfied that there were as yet no invaders
within this area, he returned his attention to the students.



\"Do you wish to live?\" he asked, calmly.



They dumbly nodded their assent.



\"Then may I suggest that youish ish dressing and follow me to the Potions
storeroom.  I shall lock and ward the room and set a mark upon the
door that will only be visible to Death Eaters.  I recommend that
when they arrive and break down the door that you immediately fall down
upon your knees and thank them for delivering you from the chains of the
former Headmaster\'s ignorance.\"



The boys nodded once more and sat down upon the couch to hurriedly
put on their shoes.  As they got to their feet, a perplexed look
appeared on one of the boy\'s faces.



\"But, please, sir, what to we do if someone else lets us out?\" he whispered.



As the Bloody Baron\'s laughter echoed behind him, Snape closed his
eyes and sighed deeply for a moment.



\"How ever did you manage to be placed in Slytherin?\" he chided, opening
his eyesbsp;bsp;He sighed again before continuing, \"Then, of course, you
may proclaim that I as your loving head of house locked you in there for
your own protection after you threatened to rush out and join the defense
of the castle.\"  Turning on his heel, he stormed back out through the
door.



As the quartet made their way to the storeroom, he noted that his left
forearm seemed to be pulsing with heat at regular intervals. That could
only mean, as he already suspected, that the Death Es wes were steadily
gaining ground.  



There had not been another word spoken as he unlocked the door of the
storeroom and ushered them inside.  After assuring himself that the
room would remain adequately ventilated he closed the door again, taking
several minutes to place a variety of wards and enchantments upon it.  Keeping
his wand in his hand, he turned to go toward the stairs.



\"So where are you going now?\" asked the Baron.



\"To the Great Hall, of course,\" he answered, coolly.  \"It was
the agreed-upon meeting place in case of an attack.\"



\"Rather curious that Dumbledore hasn\'t given out instructions, isn\'t
it?\"  The Baron\'s tone was politely inquisitive.



\"Obviously he is either not upon the grounds or has already been disabled,\"
Snape replied, heading up the stairs.  



The Baron continued to glide at his side.  \"Or he is deceased?\"
he asked, quietly.



Snape shook his head resolutely as he stepped onto the landing.  \"No,\"
he replied shortly.  



\"How can-\"



\"Because this whole building would be in a shambles if he was dead,\"
he answered.  He stopped and gazed around him.  \"The castle has
been battered, but is still holding.  If Dumbledore were dead, most
of the protective charms he has placed upon these stones would cease to
exist as well.\"  He glanced back at the Baron.  \"I believe you
were instructed, in case of an attack, to remain in the dungeons and monitor
the situation from there?\"



\"Yes,\" replied the ghost, continuing to hover in the hallway, as if
considering the matter thoughtfully.  \"I suppose,\" he said, finally,
\"That my loyalty to Salazar Slytherin and to Hogwarts demand that I do so.\"
 Shrugging his shoulders, he turned and drifted baown own the staircase.



\"Yes,\" thought Snape, as he continued on through the halls, \"Wasn tha that convenient?\"  He, on the other hand, was going to have to act
and think quickly if accosted by other side.  He supposed his delay
in appearing in the Great Hall could be explained honestly by his assertion
that he had stopped to protect the members of his own House first.  It
would certainly be accepted as not unexpected behavior on his part.  But
encountering Death Eaters would be much more tricky.  If they were,
as he suspected, prepared to kill all members of the Hogwarts\' staff on
sight there was a good chance that a Death Eater with no knowledge of his
role as a Double Spy would be thrilled to cast the killing curse upon him.
 But given the fact that Voldemort had not deigned to inform him of his
plans, he rather surmised the whe was already marked as a turncoat.  So
even those that he counted amount his most intimate acquaintances might
be jockeying for position in hoof dof delivering his singed hide to the Dark
Lord.



In the end, there was no need for either dueling or negotiation, as
he completed his journey to the Great Hall without encountering a single
soul.  Stepping into the vast chamber, he noted that it was sparsely
populated and that there was an ominous cloud building outside of the large
stain-glassed windows at far farthest end of the room.  A quick sweep
of his eyes confirmed the fact the only members of the staff who had preceded
him here were Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick. The former was attending
to several bodies lying upon magically-summoned stretchers while the latter,
his face dy ady and bruised, was standing upon the Ravenclaw table and staring
down blankly at the floor.  A few students were milling quietly about
the room, and he recognized in an instant that they were all members of Ravenclaw
and Hufflepuff, with nary a Gryffindor in sight. One of the sixth year Ravenclaws,
the strange one with the protruding eyes and long blonde hair, was passing
out a large tankard of something to her fellow students, encouraging them
all to take a sip of whatever beverage or potion she was offering them.  On
otheother side of the table, one of the Patil twins-he assumed it was the
Ravenclaw prefect-was anxiously pacing back and forth.



\"Flitwick?\" he asked, as he neared the tiny wizard.



With an audible gasp, the small man started out of his reverie and peered
blankly at him for sevesecoseconds before a flash of recognition swept across
his face.  \"Severus!  Thank the gods you\'re all right!\" he squeaked,
hurrying to climb down from his perch.



\"What exactly has happened?\"



\"Well, I-\"  The other wizard paused and clasped his hands in front
of him, the fingers twining helpless for a moment as he struggled to collect
his thoughts.  \"I was on my way to the staff lounge when I heard the
first blast,\" he finally said.  He paused again and there was no mistaking
the disbelief and shock in his voice.



Snape nodded and waited for him to continue.



\"I-I didn\'t know whether or not to go in the direction of the sound
or if I should continue on my way and collect the others.  Everyone
was gathered there you know, for the Boxing Day celebration.\"



\"Yes.\"  Snape frowned and crossed his arms.  Now that more
and more of the houseelves had reluctantly agreed to accept their freedom,
some of the staff had insisted that they continue that honored British tradition.
 Thus, on that on the day after Christmas, those who normally attended
to others were instead treated to a day of leisure and rest.  A large
breakfast for the houseelves had been planned, with the Professors serving
the meal to the little creatures in a specially-decorated Staff Room.  It
had been just another reason why he had gladly retreated to his bed, although
he knew both the teachers and the elves would have been astounded to see
him make an appearance at the celebration.



\"Well, I had decided it was best if we traveled together as a group,
so I headed toward the staff room.  That\'s when I heard and felt the
second explosion.\"  His hand brushed against the large scratches upon
his face and Snape realized that there were large splinters embedded in
the flesh as well.  \"The door came flying off the hinges before I could
react.\"  Flitwick turned and gestured helplessly towards the stretchers.
 \"Whatever spell they used, it was even more horrible than Avada
Kedavra,\" he whispered.  \"The bodies of the teachers and the elves
were nothing but charred skin and bones by the time I reached the threshold.
 The only ones left alive were Professor Sprout and Madam Hooch.  I
think only because they had just entered the room and were farther away from
the explosion than the others were.\"  His voice dropped even lower,
\"And Poppy is not sure she will be able to save them.\"  Pausing to brush
the tears from his eye, he looked back at Snape.  \"Thank Merlin you
hadn\'t arrived yet, Severus.\"



\"Yes,\" said Snape, walking past him to take a closer look at Pomfrey\'s
patients. He saw no point in telling him that he had forgotten about the
inane celebration, and would sooner have awarded points to Gryffindor than
to attend it in the first place.



Madam Pomfrey barely bothered to bestow a glance upon him as she continued
to care for her patients.  Madam Hooch\'s robes were in tatters, the
edges burnt and frayed and what he could see of her skin between the bandages
that Pomfrey was still wrapping around her looked raw and painful.  Taking
a step to the side, he studied Sprout as well, and thought initially that
she looked to be in much better condition than her compat. &n.  Then
he realized that the flying instructor\'s body must have been standing directly
in front of the portly witch when the blast occurred.  For while there
were scorch marks upon the left and right side of her body, the middle
seemed comparatively untouched, f thf the heat from the explosion had been
partially deflected from that areabsp;bsp;In fact, he could almost make
out the silhouette of the thin, wiry Hooch by following the pattern of
the burn marks.



\"Obviously,\" he said, reluctantly drawing his eyes away from this rather
macabre spectacle, \"The Staff Room was specifically targeted in order to
eliminate as many of the staff-both teachers and houseelves-as possible,\"
he commented.



\"Yes,\" Pomfrey replied quietly, as her nimble fingers continued to work
away tirelessly.



He felt a chill run through him as he continued to consider the matter.
 Although it might be argued that the Dark Lord would be certain that
Snape would never deign to attend such a banal gathering, it was certainly
not incontrovertible evidence that he could have been expected to survive
the attack unscathed.  More worryingly, it begged the question as to
just who had been feeding information about the staff\'s activities to Voldemort-since
Snape had not found the Boxing Day Breakfast to be worthy of mention.



\"And where was the first blast centered?\" he asked, although he already
suspected he knew the answer.



\"The Headmaster\'s office,\" came the reply from his elbow.  Flitwick
had joined them.



Snape swayed slightly and felt his already pallid complexion lose even
more color.  That would seem to explain why Dumbledore\'s amplified
voice had not immediately resounded through the school, assuring the students
and giving instructions to the staff.  And yet...



He shook his head and looked around the room again.  As he had told
the Baron, if Albus was dead, the destruction would have been far more
extensive that it appeared to be.



\"But Albus was not there,\" he stated quietly.



\"No,\" said Flitwick.  \"He had told me this morning, in strictest
confidence, that he was awaiting a summons at any time from the British Prime
Minister for an important meeting between the Ministry and the Muggle government.\"



\"I see,\" Snape replied slowly, looking slightly surprised.  It was
unlike Albus not to inform him of such an important development.



\"Oh, Severus, he asked me to tell you,\" assured the tiny Wizard.  \"I
just happened to call on him early this morning in order to make the final
arrangements for-\"  He paused and appeared to be on the verge of tears
again, \"the party.\"



\"But, perhaps,\" he said, a frown wrinkling his forehead, \"He was in the
office and is merely injured rather than killed.\"



\"No.\"  This was Pomfrey\'s voice.  \"We were able to get into
the office even though it was a shambles with most of the walls blasted away.
 But a few of the portraits had survived and were able to assure us
that the Headmaster had managed to safely floo away from his office just
before the blast occurred.\"



Snape\'s head was beginning to pound.  It was logical that the two
events were somehow connected.  Even a wizard of Dumbledore\'s powers
could not easily remove himself magically from within the enchanted walls
of the castle.  Had the momentary lowering of theds tds to allow his
exit also exposed a vulnerability that the attackers had used to their advantage?
 It seemed reasonable that the message that had prompted his departure
was counterfeit, orchestrated by the Death Eaters in order to facilitate
their assault. It again pointed to the probability that they had a carefully-placed
informant within the school.  But why purposefully attack the man\'s
office if not to hurt the man himself?



\"Because,\" he heard his mind whisper, \"The Dark Lord seeks to weaken
Dumbledore by hurting the people and the institution that he loves.\"  He
shook his head and murmured, \"So they attacked an empty office.\"



\"No, not empty.\"  



Pomfrey was moving towards the third stretcher.  The blanket upon
this pallet was pulled over the body, and he had assumed that its occupant
had died.  As the mediwitch folded back the covering, he realized
his mistake.



Professor McGonagall was not dead, as could be instantly ascertained
by the fact that her mouth was open, the lips moving slightly as her green
eyes were darted restlessly about the room.  But it was not, as he first
assumed, because she was in shock. No, her face, though slightly smudged and
scratched, registered no emotion-not horror, fear, anger, or even confusion
over what had occurred.  And the eyes themselves were curiously blank
and...soulless.



Snape swallowed and covered her face with the blanket again.  This
covering was not a shroud that sought to give dignity to the dead, it was
a shield to protect the survivors from glancing upon a fate worse than death.



\"Dementors,\" he said resignedly, running a suddenly tired hand through
his hair.



\"Yes,\" answered Pomfrey.  She opened her mouth to say something else,
but at that moment the blonde Ravenclaw who had been wandering through the
hall, delivering doses of medicine returned to her side.



\"They\'ve all taken it, Ma\'am,\" she said, her voice soft, polite and dreamily
vague as usual.  Snape caught the vague scent of chocolate as the now-empty
tankard was handed to the Mediwitch.



\"Good,\" she replied, taking the mug and placing it upon one of the benches.



\"Except for Padma,\" the girl added, shrugging her shoulders and pointing
at the girl who was still anxiously pacing up and down.  \"She said she
wouldn\'t keep it down anyway, worrying about her sister.\"



Snape nodded, suddenly comprehending.  \"The third blast was centered
upon Gryffindor Tower?\" he asked.  



\"Yes,\" answered Flitwick sadly.



\"I will assume there were no survivors?\"



\"No!\" said Flitwick, but there was a sudden urgency in his voice again.
 \"There very well might be, but we simply have not abl able to make
our way there to see for certain.  The staircase leading to their quarters
had been totally destroyed.\"  He gestured around the hall again.  \"But
we wanted to gather all the other students and Poppy insisted upon attending
to the injured we had already found before we dared try to make our way through
the rubble.\"



\"Yes,\" he replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully.  Apparently, no
one had found it necessary to go searching for his Slytherin charges either.
 \"It would appear,\" he said, raising his voice, \"That it is time to
evacuate Hogwarts.\"



Pomfrey gazed up at the tall wizard, with an expression of surprise.



\"But-\" began Flitwick.



\"Yes,\" continued Snape, \"I am quite aware that the order should technically
only be given by the Headmaster or deputy Headmistress, but it appears that
neither are currently in a tiontion to give the decree.\"  He glanced
at Pomfrey and Flitwick again.  \"I certainly intend to instruct my students
to use the escape route immediately.\"  As Flitwick opened his mouth,
Snape waved his hand and continued, \"Yes, Flitwick, my own students are
quite unharmed and currently locked away in the dungeons. A safe enough precaution
for the short term, but it would appear ludicrous for us to even hope to
mount a defense against our attackers given our current numbers.  Therefore,\"
he said, shrugging his shoulders, \"It would appear much more prudent to
beat a hasty retreat.\"



\"But, Severus, are you sure that the route is open?\" asked Pomfrey, knitting
her brows.



\"Definitely,\" he replied.



\"But where is it?\" squeaked Flitwick.



\"Behind the large mirror on the fourth floor,\" replied Snape.  \"Now
I suggest that we temporarily split-\"



\"Oh, no, Professor.\"  



Snape turned to stare at the speaker with a great deal of annoyance.  \"I
beg your pardon, Miss Lovegood?\" he asked.



\"Oh, you see, Professor, I\'ve heard that the secret passageway that used
to be there has been caved in for years,\" she replied.  Her wand was
stuck in its usual position position behind her ear and she was smiling in
a most condescending manner.



\"Read it in \'The Scribbler\' did you?\" he asked, sarcastically.



As usual, the twit seemed oblivious to his scornful tone.  \"No, actually-\"
she began.


\"I \"It has been charmed to appear that way,\" he hissed.



\"Oh!\" she replied, blinking her eyes slowly.



\"The Headmaster determined years ago that it would be best if one of the
largest secret passageways and escape routes would be presumed to be impassable,
for an occasion just like our present predicament,\" he continued.  \"The
attackers would conclude we had no way of leaving the grounds and furthermore
it was meant to discourage any attempt to sneak into the castle by
the same route.\"



\"Of course!\" exulted Flitwick, clapping his small hands together.  \"Charms
similar to those which are used to protect Hogwarts itself from Muggle intrusion.
 Although, it must be a combination of several spells in order to confound
wizards and witches as well,\" he added, frowning.



\"But, undoubtedly, a Charms Professor will be able to perform the undoing
of the enchantment with ease,\" Snape drawled.



\"But, Severus, we can not leave until we are sure that there are no other
survivors,\" objected Pomfrey.



\"No, but on the other hand,\" he said, stepping close to her and dropping
his voice to a whisper, \"Do you really think that Madam Hooch or Professor
Sprout have any hope of living unless they are transferred to St. Mungo\'s
as soon as possible?\"



\"No,\" she admitted, shaking her head, \"But still-\"



\"What I am suggesting is that we split up,\" he said, holding up his hand.
 \"You and Flitwick are needed to clear the passageway and care for the
wounded during the difficult journey.  I, on the other hand, will return
to the dungeons to free my students and instruct them to follow you through
the escape rou&nbs And then I shall journey to Gryffindor Tower.\"  He
sighed and gazed up at the ceiling.  \"I assure you that I have no intention
on leaving the premises until I have been able to account for the whereabouts
of all the students.\"



\"Well, I\'m not leaving without my sister!\"  This was Padma Patel\'s
voice.  The dark-haired witch had also joined the little group.



Snape regarded her with interest, his black eyes sweeping up and down
her frame before replying.  \"Since you are a seventh-year and quite
capable with a wand, I see no reason why you should not accompany me\" he
replied.



\"Then I\'ll come too,\" said Luna.  \"After all, I\'ve already fought
Death Eaters two years ago,\" she noted in a voice that was still quiet and
dreamy.



\"Yes,\" he murmured, his dark eyes running speculatively over her thin
body as well.  \"It would appear that you would be a suitable candidate
for this mission as well.\"



\"But, Severus, be reasonable,\" sputtered Flitwick.  \"We cannot leave
them behind-\"



\"Filius, as I have already stated,\" said Snape, his voice rising slightly.
 \"You and Pomfrey are required to clear the passage and deal with the
casualties.  Now, we can either continue to argue this point, giving
the DeEateEaters ample time to invade the castle itself and capture or kill
us all.\"  He paused and pointed toward the window, which was now almost
totally obscured by the thick black cloud, \"Or we can begin to evacuate the
bulk of the students while still attempting to save those that may be trapped
in the tower.\"



Neither Pomfrey or Flitwick said anything, staring at each other for a
very long time.  But in the end their shoulders slumped forward and
they reluctantly nodded in agreement.  With a deep sigh, Flitwick climbed
back upon the table and clapped his hands.



\"May I have your attention, please?\" he asked.  The quiet buzz of
the student\'s conversations immediately ceased.  \"Please listen carefully...\"



Snape turned and made his way out of the hallway and paid no attention
to the rest of the speech.  Behind him, he heard the clicking of heels
as Padma and Luna scurried after him, having to take two steps to make up
for each of his long strides.  As they came to the staircase leading
down to the dungeons he paused and waited for them to catch up with him.



\"Now then,\" he said, turning his gaze to the blonde girl.  \"I have
placed a ward upon the dungeons that would allow only teachers and prefects
access to the passageways.  Therefore, you will not be able to accompany
us.  You may either stay here and stand guard, or proceed to the Gryffindor
Tower and get as close to the entry way as you can.\"  



Without a word, Luna turned and headed in the opposite direction.



\"May I suggest that your wand will be of more use being kept in your hand?\"
he called after her.  



Just before she disappeared around the corner, she casually reached up
to remove the wand from behind her ear.



\"I\'m going too!\" declared Padma, but before she could take a step, she
found Snape\'s hand clamped angrily down upon her arm, preventing her movement.



\"No,\" he hissed  \"You are needed here first.\"



\"But why?\" she asked, raising her eyebrows.



\"That will become clear in a moment,\" he snorted, releasing his hold and
turning to descend the staircase.  It apparently took her several seconds
to come to a decision, for he was nearly finished removing the wards from
the storeroom door before she joined him.



\"Wands at the ready?\" he urged, as he put his left hand upon the doorknob
and gripped his own wand in his right.



\"Aren\'t these your students in there?\" she said in a confused manner,
even as she raised her wand to a defensive position.



\"I certainly hope so,\" he taunted.  \"But they, of course, can not
be assured if it is friend or foe on this side, so it would appear prudent
to be prepared for an attack.\"



He threw the door open.  In a quite anticlimactic manner, the two
Slytherin twins sheepishly shuffled out of the closet.



\"Is it all ovehen?hen?\" asked one.



\"Not quite,\" replied Snape.



\"Can we go now?\" demanded Padma, dropping her hands to her hips and looking
at them in disgust.  \"Or are you still seeing enemies in every shadow?\ she she taunted, glaring at Snape.<

\"Not at all, Miss Patil,\" he replied smoothly, a strange smile spreading
across his face.  \"The enemies you should fear most are usually in plain
view.\"  He pointed his wand at her.  \"Expelliarmus!\"



\"What?\" cried Padma, as her wand flew out her wand and fell obediently
into Snape\'s outstretched fingers.



\"Stupefy!\" he cried, stepping toward her>
>


This time, she didn\'t even have time to cry out before her body collapsed
upon the floor.  Snape strode over to her and used the tip of his boot
to nudge her over on her back.  Standing over her, he pointed his wand
again, this time aiming at her head.  \"Obliviate!\"



\"Now then,\" he said, stepping away from her and returning his attention
to the boys who were standing and staring at him with their mouths open.
 \"She should remain unconscious for several hours, at least.  I
think you should keep this,\" he added, handing Padma\'s wand to the nearest
one.  \"The escape route is behind the large mirror on the fourth floor-I
assume you are familiar with it?\"



The boy holding Padma\'s wand continued to stare down at it in wonder, hi his brother nodded his head.



\"Good, then may I suggest you use \'Mobilicorpus\' to take the y
l
lady\'s body with you?\"



\"We\'re-we\'re taking her with us?\"  asked the first boy, finally breaking
out of his stupor.



\"Of course,\" snarled Snape, tilting his head to the side.  \"I assure
you that she will have no memory of what just happened here.  Therefore,
she will be in no position to contradict you when you inform Flitwick and
Pomfrey that we were attacked.  Although Miss Patil was stunned, we
managed to fight them off and you were able to make your escape.  The
last you saw of myself and Miss Lovegood, we were headed to the Tower to liberate
the others.\"



\"But, if we\'re stopped by Death Eaters-\" began the second twin.  He
paused and looked terrified, his mouth hanging open.



\"Think, boy!\" Snape hissed.



\"We tell them that we disarmed her and offer her as a hostage!\"
said his brother, breaking into a laugh.



\"I see you have earned your place in this House after all,\" replied Snape,
nodding his head.  As he turned and made his way up the stairs he heard
the twins whisper the spell together, and when he glanced back over his shoulder
he saw that the girl\ody ody was now hanging limply in the air.  Turning
back, he was momentarily surprised to realize that the Bloody Baron had
reappeared in front of him.



\"I see you\'re out to save your own skin, Snape,\ com commented.



\"You seem surprised,\" he taunted, brushing through him and ignoring the
bone-chilling cold as he did so.  



\"Oh, not at all,\" the ghost called after him.  \"You earned your place
in this House years ago.\"



Yes, he thought to himself.  I certainly have.



By the time he made his way through the school he noticed that the hallways
were fast becoming shadowy and dim.  It appeared that the cloud that
was surrounding the castle was continue to grow, blocking out the light.
 



In a few moments, he was entering the passageway which led to the Gryffindor
staircase.  As Pomfrey and Flitwick had said, the staircase itself appeared
to be in pieces, great chunks having blown away and impeding progress through
the dark, dusty arch.



The girl was standing in the midst of the rubble, pointing her wand carefully
and blowing away chunks of the debris as she attempted to make her way through
the room.



\"That\'ll take too long,\" he noted, coming up behind her.



\"Oh, I don\'t know,\" she answered, showing no surprise at hearing his voice
behind her although she had not once looked away from her labors.  \"If
we both concene foe for a while, I think we\'ll be able to clear a path.\"



\"Why not just blast a hole through the ceiling?\" he asked, standing back
and studying the room for a moment.



\"No, I think that the whole tower might collapse then,\" she answered,
aiming her wand again and blasting away another pile of rubbish.



\"I disagree,\" he said, pointing his own wand at the ceiling and taking
careful aim.  \"If one selects the target fullfully, the results can
be quite satisfying.\"  With a casual wave of his hand, a stream of green
light flew out of the wand hid hit upon a small boulder that was hanging
precariously from the ceiling.  A moment later it had come loose and
descended noiselessly through the air before colliding, with a loud thump,
against the girl\'s skull..



He glided over to where she had fallen and bent over her body, his fingers
searching for her pulse.  To his relief, it remained strong and ste
&
 Leaning down even further, he allowed the strands of his long, dark
hair to fall upon her lips and was pleased to see the ends wave gently as
she breathed in and out.  Satisfied that she was merely unconscious,
he rose back to his feet.



\"It appears you were right, Miss Lovegood,\" he murmured.  \"It is much
to dangerous to disturb the ceiling.  I do hope you don\'t mind waiting
here while I find another way into the Gryffindor common room?\"



He paused and cocked his head to the side, as if awaitinganswanswer.



\"Since you have no objections, I will proceed,\" he smirked.  \"By the
way,\" he added,  stepping back and looking around him again.  \"I
am sure that if any Death Eaters do wander this way that they will be most
pleased that such an infamous member of \'Dumbledore\'s Army\' has been careless
enough to fall into their hands.\"



Reluctantly placing his wand inside of his pocket, he closed his eyes and
concentrated on performing the transfiguration.  It had been years
since he had last assumed his Animagus form.  Not that he was displeased
with it, but there were times when his appearance garnered unwanted attention.
 Today, however, it not only afforded him a means by which to access
the Gryffindor tower but, if he were to be glimpsed, he had no doubt that
people would be unsurprised the appearance of such a creature.  



He grunted softly as he felt his torso and limbs begin to lengthen, and
then fell forward, sound of his hooves clanging sharply against the stones
as his arms transformed into forelegs.  The snort turned into a neighing
sound as he the wings sprouted fros wis withers. A moment later he felt
them unfurl and with stretch out to their full span.  He crouched down
for a moment and then sprung into the air.



Even those observers who were able to view Thestrals would have been hard-pressed
to pick out his dark form against the dark cloud swirling around the castle.



But his white, pupil-less eyes seemed to see clearly through the haze and
within only a few seconds hs hos hovering outside the besieged Gryffindor
common room.  He had expected to use his strong back legs and sharp
hooves to kick out one of the windows, but it appeared it was not necessary.
  All of the glass in each casement had already been shattered, and
where the largest window had once stood there was now merely a large, gaping
hole.  It was so huge, in fact, that he didn\'t even have to draw in
his wings to glide through the opening.



He alighted noiselessly upon the carpet and remained in his transfigured
form as he studied the drama unfolding in front of him. A group of dementors
was circling around the room, trying to get close to the lone beleaguered
and bloodied figure that was standing in front of the fireplace. An overturned
couch was serving as a barricade in front of her, but her true defense was
the thin haze of grey smoke emerging from her wand.  Following it to
the floor, he could just make out the small and wispy form of an otter that
was gamboling upon the rug.  



Judging from the momentary glance she threw in his direction, it would
also seem that Miss Granger was no longer one of those who had never seen
the face of death.  The dementors, however, gave him no notice as they
continued to bob softly around the room.



It took him only a moment to come to his decision, and if one were watching
carefully, you might have seen that the wand was clutched in his fingers
even as his bony wrist still bore a certain resemblance to a fetlock.



\"Expecto patronum!\" he yelled, pointing his wand in the direction
of the shrouded figures.  The light that flashed out of the tip quickly
coalesced into the image of a Thestral.  It appeared to be a duplicate
image of the creature who had seconds before been standing in Snape\'s place,
except this one was blindingly white.



The dementors, who had ignored his arrival, drew back in fear as the Thestral
charged towards them, and within a few seconds they had hastily departed
out of the fissure through which he had just entered.  The winged horse
followed them and quickly disappeared from view.



As Hermione wearily lowered her wand, the translucent otter also evaporated
into nothingness.



\"Thank you, Professor Snape,\" she gasped.



\"You surprise me, Miss Granger,\" he said, gliding over to her.  \"I
would have thought that someone with your abilities would be able to produce
a much more substantial patronus.\"



\"I-I-\" she murmured, collapsing completely upon the stones of the hearth.
 



\"But, then again, you do seem to have been severely injured in the attack,\"
he allowed.



Now that he was close enough to peer over the couch, he could see that
two bodies were already huddled upon the floor. Although one of the girl\'s
heads was covered in blood, it could be seen that some of the redness came
from the natural color of her hair.  So the Weasley girl and been attacked
and beside her, presumably, lay the body of Parvati Patil.  To add
to the incongruity of the situation, all three appeared to be dressed in
warm flannel pajamas.



\"Are they dead?\" he asked, raising his eyes back to her face.



\"I don\'t think so,\" she whispered,  \"At least they weren\'t before,ut tut they need help.\"



\"Obviously,\" he said, stepping over the couch and kneeling down beside
them.  Although their pulses were much fainter than Miss Lovegood\'s
had been, they appeared to be stabilized for the moment.



\"Maybe you can transfigure again and carry us down,\" Hermione suggested,
looking at him hopefully.



\"That is possible,\" he said, frowning distastefully at his hands which
were now covered with thrls\rls\' blood.  As he rose to his feet, there
gloom outside the window suddenly cleared, and at the same time a roar arose
from the direction of the front lawn.

\"Stay down!\" he ordered, as she weakly tried to stand up again.  Striding
over to the window, he stared down onto the grounds.



\"Is it over?\" she asked.



Voldemort himself was walking across the snow-covered lawn, a throng of
jubilant Death Eaters surrounding him as he neared the front steps.  As
he rose up the stairs, the doors of the school flew upon and a small group
of robed and white-masked figures emerged from the portal.  Walking among
them were the Slytherin twins and one of the Death Eaters was jubilantly pointing
his wand at Padma Patil\'s still-unconscious figure, which was twisting slowly
as she hung in the air.  And behind them came Argus Filch, a delighted
smile plastered onto his ugly face.



\"So that\'s who the informant was,\" Snape whispered softly.



He continued to watch as all of the Death Eaters fell upon their knees,
followed immediately by the twins and Filch as Voldemort waved his wand triumphantly
into the air.  The girl\'s body continued to sway in a ghostly manner
above the crowd.



He wondered if the others had managed to escape.  Since there appeared
to be no other hostages or bodies being brought forth for the Dark Lord\'s
perusal, he rather suspected that they. &n.  Though he was surprised
that they did not appear to have discovered Miss Lovegood\'s body as yet.
 That might buy him a few more minutes time, he thought.  But not
enough time to allow an escape, he decided.



\"What did you say?\"  It was the girl\'s voice behind him.



\"I said,\" he replied, tur bac back to face her, \"That, yes, it is over,
Miss Granger.\"



\"Thank you for rescuing me,\" she said, her body vly wly weakening again
as she slumped against the fireplace.



His laughter was loud and harsh.



\"I very much doubt that I deserve your thanks, Miss Granger,\" he said,
gliding back to her.  \"Within a few minutes time we shall be facing
Lord Voldemort himself.  If, as I suspect, he has already condemned
me as a traitor, I have saved you from the Dementor\'s Kiss only to sentence
us both to a long and painful death.\"


blood that were beginning to cake upon her face.



\"If, on the other hand, I am able to persuade him that I am still among
the most l of of his servants-\"



He paused and knelt down in front of her, studying her carefully for a
moment before smiling and bending down to brush his lips against hereheaehead.
 



She drew back, fear and disgust showing plainly in her eyes.



\"You will wish I had killed you myself.\"