The Shattering of Souls

ok, so it\'s safe to say that i don\'t own these guys..... with exception of bri and izzy. j.k. rowling owns them, the lucky woman. i am merely borrowing them, twisting them and their surroundings to suit my purposes. ~mu-wah-ah-ah-ah-ah~ i\'m not making any money from this, which is just as well, as i doubt anyone would pay me for this rot..... just know it\'s for my enjoyment. and yours, as well.

i\'m going to enact a standard, standing warning covering all the bases. raunch, msut, darkness.... all that good stuff. if you find anything in here that offends you, you have been warned.

and, as i usually beg, please leave a review if you like what you see here. i do try to provide a good story and some hot smut. some kudos would be appreciated. no flames, please! lest you wish me to use them to roast your ass. then i shall let lose the dragon. you don\'t want to mess with him, trust me. ~his breath is just awful!~

Chapter Five: Unwanted Tasks, Unpleasant Deeds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus Snape stared at the old mansion with a curled lip. He should have known that Malfoy would choose something as grand and upscale as this to hide the terror that was inside. He was in Spain, standing before a large, squarish building of stone. It was the Death Eater prison. Even from here, Snape could see the influence the presence of the Dementors had on the area. The vegetation around the once proud estate was black and withering, dying from the mere proximity of the soul-sucking fiends. They could pull the life out of anything.

He sighed, wondering if he were on a wild goose chase. Damn Potter for finding a way to so effectively force him into this mad pursuit. He didn\'t see how this woman, this Bri person, could have survived this long in the hands of Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. Perhaps if it had been only one of them, the girl might have stood a chance at retaining some part of herself. The two of them together meant bad news. Nothing could save the girl from madness or death at their hands. Nothing, that was, short of a miracle.

He\'d stopped believing in miracles a very long time ago.

When he\'d first given his word to find her, he\'d sent messages to everyone in his network of spies. They had been leary of taking on the mission. But the promise of a fat purse had changed several minds. He couldn\'t say that he\'d blamed them their hesitancy. It was what kept them alive in the spying game. They had scoured the European landscape, searching every where one could think of, intent on finding the missing woman.

It had taken them nearly two full months to finally discover the location of the Death Eater hideout and prison. He\'d paid the promised purses, never once batting an eyelash at the exorbitant sum he\'d handed over, then appraised Dumbledore of the information he\'d received. The Headmaster had sent him to Spain with a port key and a few choice surprises up his sleeves, if the need arose.

What he\'d carefully left out of his report to Albus was that the spies hadn\'t been able to confirm that there was a woman being kept there. He knew if she was there and still alive, it would be nothing short of that miracle that he didn\'t believe in anymore. Another thing he\'d neglected to tell Dumbledore was Malfoy\'s hiring of a professional torturer. He\'d known there were one or two of them among the Death Eater\'s ranks, but he\'d never actually met the men who claimed breaking people as their occupation.

If Malfoy was bringing in a professional torturer, he had someone who was strong willed. It was not a pleasant thought to dwell on what this person would be sentenced to suffer through. The information had given him a way to gain access to the mansion without being recognized. With the aide of a spell, he had been able to transfigure himself into the spitting image of the hired man. It hadn\'t been too difficult to sneak up on him and hit him with the body bind spell. He\'d hidden the body in a small hut near the mansion. Then he\'d transfigured himself to look like the man and left to see if he could find Potter\'s guard.

Severus had no problems gaining entrance to the prison. He\'d donned his Death Eater robes and put the white mask on before he\'d come into view of the prison, making sure that the men at the door knew who he was. It was a good way to keep himself from getting hit by a curse. They\'d let him in without asking a question, making him wonder what level of genius the newest recruits to the Death Eater ranks were on. It looked as if all one needed to do was sneer properly to be allowed in.

\'So, you finally made it, eh, mate?\' the young fool greeted him with a sickening smile. Severus made sure to keep his face blank under the mask. If he gave into the urge to scowl now, he\'d not stop. He gave a curt nod, then gestured with his hand. The young man stared at him blankly a moment or two, then his face cleared. Severus could swear he saw the candle flare to life as the man realized what he wanted. \'Right. The bird. She\'s in the cellar.\'

\'A woman?\' he questioned, trying not to let his patience get away from him.

\'Oh yes,\' the fool nodded. He chuckled, an ugly sound that made one think of stupidity and jack asses. \'Malfoy caught her. She\'s, and get this.... Harry Potter\'s body guard. She wouldn\'t give up the location of that little prat, though. I guess that\'s why you\'re here.\'

\' Indeed,\' Snape agreed in a dry tone. He\'d put the majority of his days as a Death Eater behind him, but the memories still clung to his gray matter with the ferocity of a pair of fighting jackals. He knew full and well what kind of torture awaited the woman if he didn\'t get her out of here. It wouldn\'t be too difficult. This one was easy enough to deal with. He remained silent as the other man lead him into the bowels of the manor house, going on endlessly about the Dark Lord and other ludicrous things. He was certain to have a stiff jaw by the time he got out of there.

They finally stopped before a door. It was a plain wooden panel with nothing in it but a door knob and a key hole. The woman had been kept in the dark for all this time. He was almost dreading to see what lay beyond that door. The boy pulled out a key and unlocked the door. It swung open with a minimum of noise, allowing a small band of light to spear the darkness. He turned to the boy and glared at him through the eye holes of the mask. \'I would like privacy while I work.\'

\'Of course. Malfoy said to give you anything you needed,\' the boy nodded. He left without further argument, making Snape\'s estimation of his intelligence drop even lower. Severus pulled his wand, whispering \'Lumos\' as he stepped into the darkened room. He was glad to have been a Death Eater. It made it easier for him to take in the sight before him.

There was nothing in the small cell but trickles of fetid water and mouldering straw. A pile of rags lay in the center of the floor. He could see dark smears covering the surface of them. Dried blood, without a doubt. A groan, very faint, caught his attention. He looked to the clump of straw, realizing that it was moving. He moved on silent feet over to it, looking down at the pathetic figure laying upon it. What he saw made him sick.

It was a woman, naked and painfully thin. It looked to be some time since she\'d eaten anything of substance. Bones stuck out all over the place. She was covered in dirt and crusted blood, her hair matted into a thick mass that had no discernable color. She was shivering with cold, her arms curled about her knees, which were pulled tight to her chest. He couldn\'t see any pale spots that would mark flesh. She looked as if she were made entirely of dirt. The fact that the body had survived in such a state brought an odd queasiness to his stomach as he pondered what state her mind must be in.

He leaned down, his hand going out to touch her shoulder. A moment before his fingers touched her, her eyes opened. They focused on him, saw the white mask he wore, and widened with utter horror. Her mouth dropped open, a piercing scream issuing forth that echoed off the stone walls and up the hall. He was sure others heard it and decided it would only help him in the long run.

A small fist came up out of nowhere, catching him unaware. It glanced off his chin, knocking his mask askew. He yanked the irritating thing off and looked down at the wild cat he was trying to fend off. She was trying to hurt him, however she could. There was little strength behind her actions, but plenty of spirit. He was suprised to find himself pleased with the notion that they hadn\'t broken her will quite yet. The attempted beating came to an abrupt halt when he pointed his wand at her, muttering a sleeping spell. She went limp in a moment.

Pulling a small pouch out from under his robes, he opened it and withdrew a bundle of cloth that he enlarged to it\'s full size. He\'d \"borrowed\" Potter\'s invisibility cloak for this mission. He wasn\'t about to let them see him take her out. And, if he knew Malfoy, the entire place was warded against Apparating and port keys. He would have to get her outside the walls before he could truly get her away from the place.

Making sure she was fully covered, he charmed the cloak so it would not slip off of her, then levitated the sleeping form up before him. He moved her along with the Mobilicorpus spell, keeping her within arm\'s length. He floated her out into the hall, closing the door behind him, then began the climb up the stairs to the ground floor and eventual freedom.

He encountered no one on his way, thankful for that. He didn\'t want to explain to anyone, least of all Malfoy, why he was moving some invisible object about the mansion. He told the young man who had lead him to the cell that he needed to get some specialized equipment and he would return after a time. The idiot nodded, never noticing how long it took him to get out the door. He kept moving them until he found some shelter behind a thicket of dense trees. In a flash, he Apparated himself and the girl back to the hut where he had hidden the real torturer and the rest of his supplies.

It took him a few moments to render the torturer unconscious, making sure he had obliviated the man\'s short term memory. A handy trick, to be sure. Then he set about making preparations for his return to Hogwarts. He uncovered the girl\'s face, looking at the filthy skin. He knew, should he clean the dirt from her now, he would find many bruises. Most likely, other things as well. But he wasn\'t going to risk the chance of getting caught now that he had her.

He was just finishing up the transfiguration that gave him back his own face when he felt someone staring at him. He turned to find a pair of very blue eyes looking up at him with something like wary curiosity in them. She took in the room, her gaze coming to rest on his Death Eater\'s robes. She opened her mouth to scream at the sight, her eyes widening in fear. He moved toward her and put a finger to her lips, silencing her with it and a few soft words. \' It\'s perfectly alright. There\'s no need to scream, as you are no longer being held captive.\'

Her eyes searched the room once more, going wide again with the realization that he was speaking the truth. She turned her gaze back to him. At this distance, he couldn\'t help but notice the small flecks of silver that dotted her eyes. Not gray, but true silver. Intriguing. \'You rescued me?

\'Yes,\' he confirmed with a nod, his tone clipped.

\'My hero!\' she exclaimed in excitement. Then she did something so surprising, he was struck temporarily dumb. She threw her arms about him and hugged him tightly. The entire scene must have proved too much for her, though, because she promptly slipped back into unconsciousness. It left him to contemplate why the hug hadn\'t bothered him as much as he felt it should have. With a curse, he gathered his things, then put his hand on the unconscious woman. He pulled out the port key Dumbledore had given him and activated it with the muttered phrase, \'Sugarpoop.\'

~*~*~*~*~

Severus stared down at the pale face. It swam amidst a sea of black and white. Black hair that had once been completely filthy and matted into snarled clumps now lay spread out on the white cover of the pillow beneath it. He could see the faint purple highlights running through it, despite the dim light of the flickering candles. Those highlights matched some of the fading bruises that marred the porcelain color of the girl\'s skin. Smudges of black ringed her eyes, attesting to poor sleep.

The bones that made up the structure of her face, as well as those that framed the rest of her body, seemed to stick out in a more pronounced manner now that the dirt had been cleared away. She\'d barely been given food to eat. She was lucky to be alive. And, fool that he was, he\'d helped keep her that way.

A growl of frustration left his throat. Had he known before hand, he would never have agreed to undertaking Potter\'s hair-brained idea. He would have been perfectly content to stay hidden in his dungeons and let Malfoy torture the wench until he tired of her and killed her. Severus wouldn\'t have felt an ounce of guilt, had that happened. He would have, in fact, felt smug and justified. Bri Wallace was a bane in his existance. And he had saved her.

Bri Wallace was the woman who had killed him.....

~*~*~*~*~

Because of the attack on his life, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and himself had holed up in the Headmaster\'s office, planning their next course of action. Severus had stood, arms crossed over his chest while he\'d glowered at the two other members of staff. He\'d waited in silence for them to make their proposal. Minerva had turned in her seat to look at him. \'Honestly, Severus. You could try to look a bit more interested in what we have to say. We are doing this for your benefit, you know.\'

He had given her a fleeting quirk of his lips that was more painful grimace than smile.

\'Now, Severus. Minerva is right. This is done with your best interests in mind,\' Albus had sighed.

\'Forgive me if I\'m less than enthusiastic, Headmaster, but this is *my* life that *you\'re* planning out,\' he snapped irritably, his tone as cold as he could make it. It had been bad enough to find out that his position in the ranks of the Death Eaters had been compromised. To find out that Voldemort had wanted him dead badly enough to send an assassin had been a surprise. Not that he wouldn\'t have expected death. The Dark Lord had always been one to make an example of those around him who had displeased him in some way. But he would do it in a very public manner. One and all would be witness to such a thing. To have have ordered a private hit on Severus had been astounding.

\' I understand your position, Severus. And I can appreciate how much you\'ve already given up by spying for thr Order. Since I am the one who got you into this mess, I can at least be the one to get you out of it,\' Dumbledore had replied, his tone faintly admonishing.

Heaving a sigh, Severus had uncrossed his arms and nodded. \'Very well. Get on with it. I\'m a busy man.\'

\'We\'re going to have you killed,\' Minerva told him. Her face has maintained it\'s seriousness, but he could have sworn he\'d heard a small amount of laughter in her voice. His eyebrow had shot up, his gaze seeking confirmation from Albus.

\'Yes. We believe it\'s the only way to save you from death at Voldemort\'s hands,\' Albus had told him, the twinkle gone from his eyes.

\' I cannot believe what I am hearing!\'

\'Now, now, Severus. It will only be until Voldemort is dead and the Death Eaters are disbanded,\' the Headmaster had replied. \' We have the entire thing planned out. We\'ll even have it set somewhere publicly, so that there will be witnesses. Of course, we will only make it appear as if you\'ve met your demise. You will be forced, however, to remain hidden in the dungeons. And you will not be allowed to teach. That is, until this is over.\'

The two old fools had stared at him expectantly, waiting to hear his answer. It had been some time before his brain had processed the information. He had then gone into a tirade about it being his life. About losing his freedom. About the utter lunacy of the plan. He had ranted and raved for a full half hour. All he had accomplished had been a headache and a line of spittal dripping from the corner of his mouth. He \'d glared at the two of them while wiping at it with his sleeve. It was rare that he lost control like that, and he\'d waited eagerly for one of them to make some remark.

The trip to Azkaban would have been worth it, had he been allowed to vent his frustration in Forbiddens. Neither one had said anything about his short trip to the other side of maniacal. He\'d taken deep breaths, turning to look at Fawkes while he\'d tried to regain control of himself. Another fifteen minutes of silence had passed before he\'d been able to turn and look at them once more. His normal, placid expression had taken back it\'s rightful place on his face. He\'d calmly crossed his arms over his chest and pinned them both with his fathomless black gaze.

\'Who shall be taking over the teaching of my Potions class?\' he\'d enquired, wondering how they would get around that. He was, after all, one of the very best at Potions in the Wizarding world, He\'d been fully prepared to smirk and laugh at them when they finally gave him the answer.

\' I\'m sorry I\'m late, Professors. I had a problem that....\' the voice had trailed off when Severus\' piercing gaze had latched onto him in extreme dislike.

\'Come in, Remus. We were just talking about you,\' Albus had motioned to an empty chair with one hand. He\'d smiled at the way his Potions Master\'s dark eyes had practically popped from his head.

\'You\'re going to replace me with Lupin?\' the snarl had startled one and all in the office. Even Dumbledore had looked shocked upon hearing it. All eyes had rounded on him. The look of rage had to have been intense, for the Headmaster and Minerva had unconsciously pulled back from him. \'The mongrel hasn\'t even the slightest clue.\'

\'Which is precisely why you will be aiding him after hours, of course,\' Albus\' voice had been stern. Before Severus had been able to voice any more protests, the older man had gone on. \'You will do this, Severus. It\'s the only possible way we can save you.\'

\'Perhaps I would rather take my chances with Voldemort,\' his voice had sounded whiny, even to his own ears.

\' I could not live with myself, were I to allow that to happen,\' the older Wizard had admitted softly, his voice suddenly full of vulnerability and exhaustion. He\'d lifted sad blue eyes to the man in black and spoken his next words from his heart. \' It is my fault that you are in this mess to begin with, Severus. It would be entirely my fault, should something happen to you. You\'re a good friend, and I should hate to lose you.\'

It had been those words, as well as the look on Albus\' face, that had made him give in. He\'d felt like a fish out of water as he\'d stood and stared at the other man. He\'d been certain his mouth had gaped open in a terribly rude manner. And, after the initial shock had worn off, he\'d sighed and given in to their idiotic plans. And so they had sat down and begun formulating a plan that they were sure would be a solution to his problems. He\'d felt as if it would be an end to much more than that.

For two weeks later, they had let it be known that Snape and Dumbledore were on the outs. They had chosen the most secretive way they could find to spread the gossip. They\'d staged a few rather well played out scenes before a few of the right students, knowing the information would wing it\'s way back to those who would know precisely how to use it. They\'d allowed the apparent animosity to supposedly simmer and grow until it seemed as if the two men were ready to go at each other\'s throats.

The final event had happened nearly a full three weeks after that fateful meeting. Dumbledore had set the \"fight\" up to take place on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Severus had been given no information other than it would be a member of the Order who finished him off in front of a few choice witnesses. He\'d made as if he were going to see Voldemort, to tell the Dark Lord everything he knew about the Order. That was how he was supposed to have gotten out of the school, to be where he needed to be.

As he\'d stepped out into the open, a group of people had come from out of nowhere. He\'d seen a familiar blonde head on the outskirts of the small crowd and had known that the rumors of his death would be widespread only hours after the deed. Not that he had come to terms with the ludicrous idea, but he\'d realized that he wasn\'t ready to die yet and Dumbledore had found a way to keep him alive for a time longer. He was resigned to his fate.

He\'d seen Albus long before he\'d seen the girl. She had been behind the Headmaster, so he\'d assumed to begin with that Dumbledore had volunteered to end his life. The older man had stopped about twenty paces from him, a grave expression on his face. \' I had hoped it wouldn\'t come to this,\' Albus had said loudly, the words echoing in the clearing. Severus had sneered, a nastier one than usual. \' I\'m afraid I can\'t let you give Voldemort all our secrets.\'

\'And I suppose you\'re going to stop me?\' he\'s asked, not having to fake the anger he\'d felt.

\'No. That would be my job,\' she\'s stepped from behind Dumbledore with a bloody grin on her face that he\'d wanted to hex off. He\'d had the girl from his Potions classes years ago. Only then, she\'d gone by the name Rhiannon Wallace. He\'d not liked her when she was his student. She had never applied herself to her studies. She\'d been an average student, but could have been better, had she merely made the effort. And she\'d been a notorious pain in his arse. She\'d never shown him any respect at all.

Now she was here to see him done in. It was laughable. \'Miss Wallace. A decidely displeasurable meeting, to be sure. So you\'re Albus\' newest lap dog? I do hope he gives you plenty of treats.\'

\'Joke all you like. I will stop you,\' she\'d replied, not an ounce of emotion in her voice. He\'d found himself terribly impressed with her lack of feeling. The blank mask she\'d presented to the gathering had been nearly as good as his. It had made him scowl all the more. He had been thoroughly surprised when she\'d lifted her wand and pointed it at him.

\'Child, you don\'t stand a chance against me. I am a Death Eater,\' he\'d growled at her. She\'d merely smiled, a tiny uplifting of the corner of her mouth that he wouldn\'t have seen, had he not been staring direclty at her.

\'Well, everyone needs a hobby,\' she\'d countered. The audacity had left him momentarily stunned. Then he\'d scowled at her fiercely and drawn his wand. The faint smile had melted away, the look in her eyes becoming steely with intent. The look had been something he could relate to.

Everything that had happened after that had been a blur. She\'s shouted out some spell, which he\'d barely had time to block. Then he\'d fired back. The two of them had been hard pressed to gain ground, because they\'d both fought as if it were a real battle. He\'d had a moment when he\'d decided that it had been a wise move to take that odd, bespelled charm he\'d found in his hand after the attempt on his life. He\'d put it in his pocket as an after thought. He\'d become increasingly glad that he had. The spells she\'d thrown at him would have hurt him, had he not carried it.

He\'d almost missed the prearranged sign from her that meant she would be casting the spell that would kill him. He and Dumbledore had set it up so that he would know when to be a little slow on the return fire. She\'d flicked her hand as if shooing away a fly, and he\'d barely seen it out of the corner of his eye. He\'s waited until the very last moment to lower his wand. The spell had taken him full in the chest, sending pain spearing though his body. Then he\'d only known darkness.

When he\'d come awake, he\'d been laying in his own bed. Albus, Minerva, Remus, and the Wallace girl had been standing near his bed. The Headmaster had quickly given him a run down of what had transpired after his \"death\" and the subequent few hours he was unconscious. It had spread through out the Wizarding community that he had been killed. He had been removed completely from the Order and the fight against Voldemort.

When he\'d been left alone, he\'d pulled the charm out of his robes and held it between his fingers, wondering where his guardian angel had been that day....

~*~*~*~*~

Severus shook the memories off, finding himself standing in the Hospital Wing. He was still staring down at the figure in the bed. A scowl tightened his lips as he realized that the woman he looked at was not only the woman who had saved his life, but the one who had taken it, as well. He should have left her in those despicable dungeons to die. He never should have thought he owed it to her to try and save her life. He never should have left the school. She\'d ruined what little of a life he\'d had.

Poppy came over then, checking on her patient and measuring out potions to give to the girl. He gave her a curt nod, then turned. He had no desire to stay here any longer. He\'d be damned if he wanted to see any more than he already had. He\'d repaid his debt to the little bitch. Let the rest of them deal with her from now on. He started up the aisle toward the exit.

\'Severus,\' Poppy\'s voice sounded strained as she called his name. He stopped and turned to face her, one raven-colored brow going up questioningly. \'Perhaps you should see this.\' Her hand gestured at the cot upon which he knew the girl lay. It shook ever so slightly. Something he needed to see. Something serious. Something he wasn\'t entirely certain he wanted to look at. His feet moved foward, despite his brain\'s hesitation, until he stood where he could see what the Medi Witch was indicating. The sight that met him was enough to make a normal person lose their lunch or break into hysterics. He only clenched his jaw tight in an effort to keep from speaking.

\' Why on earth would anyone do such a thing?\' Madam Pomfrey\'s voice quavered this time.

\'Simple. Malfoy has marked her as his,\' Severus replied in his normal, completely lacking in emotions tone of voice.

\'It\'s vile and cruel,\' Poppy spat, moving to administer to the girl. He stood and stared at her back. At it. The \"it\" they had been discussing was the Dark Mark, carved into the tender flesh of her painfully thin body. Malfoy had obviously used a razor of some sort. The cuts were thin, made with precise, controlled motions. Judging by the crusty scabs, the carving had gone deep. Possibly into the muscle beneath the skin. The blade had been dirty, as her skin was bright red with infection. The marks were obviously several days old. He had to wonder, and not for the first time, how she\'d survived such hellish abuse.

\'That is precisely what Malfoy is,\' he remarked, then turned. \' I shall go inform the Headmaster.\' He knew that Dumbledore was already aware of his return. He was certain Poppy knew that, as well. He could admit that he was leaving for selfish reasons, if only to himself. He did not want to be in the room, didn\'t want to be near the girl. He didn\'t want to remember what it been like when he\'d been the one holding the razor. He didn\'t want to recall how it had felt to carve into someone\'s soft skin. To see the blood flow once more. To hear the screams that echoed off the stone walls of the cells long after the work was finished. To feel the rush of power.

He did not want to remember how much he\'d enjoyed it.

~*~*~*~*~

Albus Dumbledore looked up from the parchment before him to stare at his Potions Master as the tall man paced angrily. He looked like a penned animal. His hans were clasped behind his back, his black robes billowing out behind him as he stalked back and forth. \'Sit down, Severus. You\'ll wear a hole in the stones.\'

The dark head shot up, the black gaze locked upon the older man for some time before Snape sighed and sat. \'You will be pleased to know, Headmaster, that I found the girl. She\'s still alive, though just barely. I stayed with Poppy to answer any questions she may have had about any injuries.\'

\'And was there anything she asked about?\' the blue eyes that stared out from behind half-moon spectacles did not twinkle. In fact, they looked grave and serious.

\'Yes, sir. There was,\' Severus nodded, a singular motion that was curt. \' It appears that Malfoy took great relish in acting the complete bastard. He carved the Dark Mark into her back.\'

\'Something you used to relish doing?\' the older Wizard asked, not unkindly.

\'Yes,\' Severus forced the answer out from between clenched teeth.

\' I imagine it was difficult for you to look at that without feeling something,\' Dumbledore\'s voice hinted at what he thought the ex-Death Eater had felt.

\' I am repulsed by it. I am sickened to think that he took such joy in an act of atrocity. That I took joy in such acts,\' Severus snapped. \'Does it make you happy to know that?\'

\'You are not that man anymore, Severus. Granted, the darkness will always be a part of you, but you are not that man anymore,\' Albus pointed out softly. Snape dropped his head into his hands, running his fingers through his hair as he struggled with himself. After several moments, he lifted his head and looked straight at the Headmaster.

\'Look at me, really look at me, and tell me that again. If you can still do it while looking me in the eyes, I shall perhaps believe you.\'

\'You are a good man, Severus Snape. I believe that with all my heart,\' Albus said in a quiet voice. The other man merely stared at him for a moment, then shook his head, a mirthless laugh shaking his shoulders. \' I have one other task I would ask of you.\'

\'And that is?\' Severus cocked a brow. He was certain he wouldn\'t like the task one whit.

\' I\'ve already owled Harry and Izzy. They will be brought here immediately upon their arrival. I would appreciate it greatly if you would explain to them what has happened. You know far better than any of us.....\'

\'Very bloody well!\' Severus snapped, then shot from his chair. He stalked to the door, turning when he\'d put his hand on the knob. \' I\'ll babysit the two prats when they arrive. Is there anything else?\'

\' It\'s good to have you back, Severus,\' Dumbledore smiled at him, some of the twinkle returning to his eyes. Snape stared back at him a moment or two, then nodded and stepped from the room. That left the Headmaster to sit in silence and ponder his own thoughts....

end chapter five.
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my eternal gratitude goes to madam shark for all her help and encouragement. and to my regulars, for their support, as well. love you all bunches!!!!

to those of you who reviewed and assured me the last chapter was indeed dark, thanks a million. it took a few of you to finally convince me i had accomplished what i\'d set out to do. i\'m sure there\'ll be more dark spots here and there as the story progresses, but hopefully nothing like that. i don\'t know how much more bri can stand.

and, as always, please leave a review and let me know what you think. pretty please, with sugar on top?