Ashes of Armageddon

The Edge



Severus was mercifully left alone for the rest of the day. He spent the evening reading, but not one of his own books. He was reading an old Herbology text that had been left by Ginny before her departure. A quick reader, he had finally finished the text, and then, looked at the inside of the book cover. He saw the inscription:



“To Ginny, from Neville and Luna. Hope you have fun with it. Happy Birthday!”



He chuckled quietly, shaking his head. For a moment, the book seemed to be the last remnant of the world that had fallen apart and vanished altogether. He turned off the lights, and went to sleep, surrendering himself to the nightmares that he had been holding at bay for two decades, but no longer had the luxury to resist.



The following morning, Harry sent him off to St. Mungo's with Neville; but not before giving him a meaningful glance, that Severus understood all to well.



The moment they arrived, Severus told Neville:



“We need to talk.”



“I know,” Neville said instantly. “Things have changed.”



Minutes later, Hermione joined them in Neville's laboratory. Without even greeting them, she asked Severus, point-blank:



“What happened?”



Surprised, Severus stared at her: “How did you know?”



“See for yourself,” she said, pushing a copy of the Daily Prophet towards him. He skimmed through the article on the front page of the paper. It outlined Draco's assassination attempt, and stated that from now on, the Minister of Magic had his house under increased security. Names of all of his friends, every single one of them, were taking out of the house wards, ensuring that nobody could simply “drop by”, or as much as enter through the gates of Godric's Hollow without Harry's personal permission. The house now also had level 10 shielding spells in place, which ensured it could withstand a hostile attack almost indefinitely.



“Level 10 shielding, that's bad, right?” Neville asked needlessly.



Hermione nodded with a vacant look in her eyes. “You could say that. International borders only have level 7 shielding, except in times of war,” she murmured. She repeated her question to Severus: “What happened?”



Quickly, he told them of the events that took place in Azkaban, however, skipping the conversation that took place at Godric's Hollow afterwards. However, it was enough to make her pale considerably.



“So you have sold your soul to the devil,” she said bitterly.



Severus gave her a sour look. “What else could I do? Watch my godson be tortured to death? And for what – to salvage the wretched remnants of my pride? Are you that eager for the first Horcrux of Harry Potter to be created through the murder of Draco Malfoy?”



She locked her fingers together and scowled at him. “How do you know he won't murder Draco anyway?” she demanded.



“He probably will,” Severus admitted reluctantly. “Just not right away. I only need to occupy his attention long enough for you to come up with some sort of plan. Your time is running out, Miss Granger. Today is my last day with you.”



Neville glared at him. “How do you know? He did not say anything of the sort to me.”



“I know,” Severus said with certainty. “I know him. Trust me, the normalcy in my life, however dubious, is now officially over. From now on, things will be vastly different.”



Neville glared at Hermione next. “We have to find a way to keep him with us. Hermione!”



“What?” she snapped. “What would you have me do?”



“Figure it out,” Neville demanded. “Scramble the surveillance spells embedded in his brand.”



She slammed her hand on Neville's desk. “And just what do you think I've been working on for the last four weeks?” she asked furiously. “I have been working on almost nothing else ever since I saw the blood-quill scar. I've been sleeping maybe four or five hours per week, not more than that. I haven't done any work actually related to my job - and I have nothing to show for it. I can't do it. I don't think anyone could. The spells are too deep, too strong. Tied directly to the owner.” She gave Severus an irate look, and was about to add something else, but stopped; nonetheless, he understood her frustration instantly.



“That's why back in Azkaban you were arguing about him branding me on my face,” he smirked. “Had it been on my hand, as a last resort, I could have cut my hand off, and...”



She nodded reluctantly. “But of course, it figures that you would just choose the most horrifying option possible, rather than endure someone's sympathy for a few minutes,” she spat, and muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “arrogant bastard”.



Severus chuckled slightly. “Miss Granger, just get me a wand. Any wand.”



Hermione shook her head in absolute misery. “We would have done it already, if it were possible. He has wards in his place. He's had them since he brought you in. The wards inform him of any wand other than his own being present. He'll have the Elder Wand out before you have a chance to reach for yours. And then...”



Severus lifted his hand and cut her off dismissively. He would be disarmed, and a few hours, or days later, Draco would be quite dead, or worse.



“Ron is returning tonight,” Hermione said weakly. “Maybe he found out something that will be helpful.”



“Yeah, sure,” Neville said sardonically. “It doesn't matter, you know. I don't give a fuck about WHY Harry is this way. At least, not anymore. The only thing that matters is that we've waited too long, and now we've run out of time.”



They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Finally Neville stood up.



“I have to go. I got things to do.”



“What kind of things?” Hermione asked instantly.



“Have a beer with an old friend,” Neville said. He was rummaging through his potion cabinet, pulling out a couple of unlabeled vials and sliding them in his pocket.



“Beer? At ten in the morning? Who are you seeing?” she demanded.



“None of your business,” Neville snapped. “Leave me alone, Hermione! Stop acting like you are the only one with a functioning brain! I know what I am doing!”



“Alright,” she said evenly. “Be careful.”



He rolled his eyes. “We've been careful for five years, Hermione. Look where it got us.”



They all stared at each other in absolute silence, and the tension in the room became almost palpable. It looked like the years of watching the darkness roll in, as well as the events of the past several weeks, had finally began taking their toll on the old friends.



“Hermione,” Neville said finally. “I'm sorry, okay? Just trust me. I promise, I won't make things worse.”



“I trust you,” Hermione said quietly. “Come over tonight, okay?”



“Kay,” Neville said, tossing a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace, and departing to Diagon Alley.



Left alone, Hermione and Severus spent the rest of the morning thinking, and reviewing Hermione's research. They made no progress on neutralizing or scrambling the tracking spells; and in fact, no progress of any kind.



By the afternoon, an idea presented itself; and Severus began wondering if he should simply take his own life at this point. Perhaps Harry's Unbreakable Vow would recognize that Harry had driven him to it, and kill Harry Potter in turn. Alone, he reviewed all the literature on the Unbreakable Vow available at St. Mungo's library, only to have his hopes squashed.



Then, evening came, and it was time to go “home”. Severus cast one last, parting glance at Neville's laboratory – his potions cabinets, that Severus had organized in a perfectly logical fashion, and the rows of books on the shelves, now categorized and thematically arranged. A small mark of Severus' presence, that would linger for a few days, or perhaps weeks, after his departure.



It was odd indeed, he thought absently, for the world to have the appearance of so much normalcy and ordinariness, while the Dark was creeping in, unmistakable and seemingly unstoppable. Although its tendrils were reaching far, the heart of darkness was still small, centered in one household. Just one Dark Wizard, just three of his new sidekicks doing his depraved bidding. Severus would have been tempted to think that it was just about him; and would never go further than simply his own wretched destiny, but he was old enough and experienced enough to know better. For some strange, inexplicable reason, it had began with him, but they were all standing on the edge of the abyss; ready to fall any moment.



Severus stood up abruptly, and without saying a word, headed towards the Floo. With one swift, impulsive move, Hermione grabbed his sleeve, holding him back.



“Why you?” she asked. “Why, of all the people in the world, does he hate you so much? I mean, there are so many that have harmed him over the years. From his Muggle family, to Umbridge... and Lucius Malfoy? He doesn't even care about them any. Just you. Why you?”



Severus shrugged. Every day, for the past month, he had wondered the same. He already understood that Harry not believing him was not the problem. Harry did not hate him because he disbelieved him; on the contrary, Harry disbelieved him because of the hate.



“You should take some potions home,” she told him. Her voice was shaking slightly. “Or just drink some, before you go back. Some numbing potion, some heal-all.. just in case.”



“No,” Severus said bluntly. “He'll know. Just as I know him, he knows me. Sometimes, I can fool him, but there are times when he sees right through me.”



She looked at him dubiously.



He shrugged with indifference. “Believe what you will. I will not underestimate him again. I suggest that you do not, either.”



She released him from her grip, and sat at Neville's desk, her head resting on her hands.



“Goodbye,” he said gruffly.



“Forgive us,” she whispered abjectly.



“For what, exactly?” he asked, almost amused.



“For waiting so long. For wasting so much time. For being his friends.”



He stared at her, briefly tempted to grant her the absolution she was pleading for. Instead, he asked simply:



“What are you going to do?”



She lifted her eyes, and said calmly:



“Anything.”



He nodded curtly. “Than that is all you need.”



...To Be Continued...