Ashes of Armageddon

The Last Words.



The following evening, Severus managed to evade Hermione Granger before collecting everything he needed from her place and departing to the Island. However, he found that he could not evade Harry Potter, who arrived to the Island just as the Cockatrice were rounded up, kenneled and prepared for transport with the help of Percy's men.



“What the hell is going on?” Harry demanded without a preamble. “Severus, what's happening? Where are you taking the animals?”



Cornered, and woefully unprepared to defend his actions, Severus opted to attack instead.



“Stop emoting. Nothing dramatic is going on,” Severus said a little irritably. “I am relocating the animals temporarily.”



“That's a bloody lie and we both know it,” Harry spat angrily. “You are leaving, aren't you?”



“What makes you say that?” Severus asked, cursing himself for not thinking this through better and swearing inwardly at how terribly wrong everything was going.



“The animals were doing great here,” Harry pointed out. “They finally found a safe home Why would you want to relocate them? And don't even try to tell me that you've found a better location,” Harry warned. “And ... temporarily? They aren't honking daffodils. They can't be uprooted and replanted frivolously. You wouldn't be relocating them for a week, or a month, or even half a year's time. If you are moving them out of here, it's permanent, or at least, very long-term.”



He felt trapped, without a graceful way to emerge from this confrontation. He still had no intention of sharing his plans with the trio. However, neither did he have a way to explain the relocation of animals in a believable way, now that Harry had seen through his bluff.



“I suppose I need a bit more space,” he said awkwardly, hating having to lie this way.



The hurt in Harry's eyes was almost too much to cope with. “I didn't realize I was crowding you,” he softly said. “Tell me, are you even planning to come back at all?”



Harry's question caught Severus off-guard. The simple truth of the matter was that he hadn't made detailed plans past the rescue of the children. He stared at Harry speechlessly, uncertain how to respond.



“I see,” Harry murmured dejectedly, appearing to be too shaken up to talk about it. He sat on the ground and watched as the boat approached the headland of the island, and the cages with the animals were being secured and reinforced. Severus joined him cautiously, soaking in the warmth and comfort of Harry's nearness, and trying not to dwell on the realization that this might be the last time he could do that.



“I am going to ask again,” Harry said, “are you all right? I mean.. you had a lot of stuff piled up on you in the last few days.”



“Such as?” Severus asked defensively.



“Such as everything. Losing the Covenant was one of them,” Harry pointed out. “It was your safety net for over a year. We could re-establish it, with Hermione as the Guardian. In fact, I should have thought of it sooner.”



“I don't want the Covenant,” Severus said quickly. “It was useful for a while, but at this point I don't need it.”



“Why not?”



“Because I know you now,” Severus said gently. “I know you mean me no harm.”



Not to mention having the Covenant in place would make lying not just inconvenient, but simply impossible.



“Well then, can you tell me what it's all about?” Harry asked, appearing to be slightly encouraged by Severus' response.



“Not really,” Severus said reluctantly. “At least, not yet. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped asking.”



Harry sighed slightly, but did not press. “Fine,” he said. “So, how much space do you need? Would you mind if I dropped by Spinner's End once we find the kids and everything is over?”



Severus smiled absently. The idea of surviving, and coming back to Spinner's End with Harry visiting him at some point appeared to be preposterous given his plans, but he held on to that glorious delusion with surprising strength. “No, I wouldn't mind that,” he said softly.



Harry nodded and stood up. Slowly, he walked towards the kennel with the Cockatrice and sat down in front of it. He whispered a short phrase in Parseltongue, and the leader of the pack gazed at Harry without blinking, its almond-shaped bright eyes locking with his.



“What did you tell him?” Severus asked.



“I said, remember the island,” Harry said with a small smile.



“I don't think they'll ever forget the first safe home they ever had,” Severus mused, rising to his feet as well.



Harry reached out to him and embraced him tightly. His fingers laced with Severus' hair and ran through it with cautious gentleness. Severus all but forgot how to breathe under Harry's touch. This had to hurt for Harry, he thought guiltily and bitterly, to think oneself abandoned by his lover in the time of need and uncertainty. And yet, whatever emotions Harry was battling with, he kept firmly in check. There was no begging, no arguing, no rebukes. All there was the embrace of Harry's arms, and Harry's hands, supporting and holding him, perhaps for the last time.



“Do what you need to do,” Harry said, pressing his lips to Severus' cheek. “I don't like this, but I did tell you you could come and go as you wanted. So... don't be a stranger, all right?”



“All right,” Severus said awkwardly, standing stiff as a board in Harry's embrace. “Goodbye for now.”



“Goodbye,” said Harry.

---

He returned to Spinner's End, drained and discouraged by the last conversation with Harry. The horrifying and all too familiar void of loneliness reemerged and reestablished itself, as if it had been waiting for him, ready to descend on him and claim him at a moment's notice.



He sighed tiredly, and finally decided that it did not matter. It was going to be over soon, he thought, as his hands rested on the old port-key and the two Invisibility Cloaks he had taken from Hermione's place earlier that day.



He spent several hours reconfiguring the port-key, and several more hours brewing a new potion in the lab.



Once that was finished, he picked up a parchment and a quill, sat down and began to write:



“Hermione,



I have made progress.



Two days ago, I have found out that Hugo's biting puzzle had been 'bugged' by Percy Weasley, who had been monitoring your house since Hugo's seventh birthday. The Ministry had been privy to every conversation that took place in your home since then. In retrospect, we should have anticipated something like that, but I am afraid we all have grown too relaxed and too careless, believing the war to be over for good.



Once Percy found out that Al was potentially infected by Tom Riddle's Dust, the Security Council of the Ministry decided to abduct the boy and detain him. The deaths of Ginny and Kreacher were not intentional, however the fact remains that they both fell casualty to the Council's actions. As far as I know, Hugo is kept at the same location as Al, and he is safe for now.



I have made plans to locate and retrieve the children by handing the clutch of the Cockatrice to Percy Weasley, ostensibly to guard the secure location where the children are kept. Before doing so, however, I have placed inconspicuous tracking spells on the animals that only I can access.



Please do not attempt to track me and follow me. My plans for getting the children out require delicate execution and I cannot afford to be disrupted. Besides, I need you three to do something else.



In addition to retrieving the children we also need to ensure Al's ongoing safety. That requires exposing the conspiracy of the Security Council. Here are step by step instructions for that:



1.Tale one vial of the Renalert potion. You are going to need it.

2. Make a stop at Gringotts bank, and retrieve the contents of Vault 876. It contains a Pensieve with my memories of my conversation with Percy Weasely.

3. Collect Hugo's biting puzzle and keep it with you. Even though Percy and I had retrieved the surveillance objects from it, the puzzle still carries Percy's fingerprints inside the pieces I had marked. Even though fingerprinting is not a commonly used technique in wizarding forensics, most practitioners are familiar with it. This will be useful as corroborating evidence.

4. Take this letter with you.

5. Stop by Spinner's End, and retrieve the set of vials marked “Veritaserum – new”, as well as the notes on brewing that particular formula. The new formula will bypass the usual counter-agents available in the wizarding world, and once tested and confirmed, Neville's testimony will become admissible, proving his innocence, and implicating other participants.

6. You have twelve hours to complete the aforementioned tasks. After that, get a hold of Harry and Ron, go to the office of the Quibbler and wait. Hugo and Al will be port-keyed there within the next forty-eight hours. Their testimony will be crucial in exposing the conspiracy.

7. Have Luna Lovegood issue a special emergency printing of Quibbler, outlining all of the above. Once the truth is out in the open, the way will be paved for a public hearing at the Wizengamot.

8. Arrange for safe escort for all of you from the Quibbler office to the Ministry of Magic building. Have Ron assemble the Aurors who would be loyal to him, and the lawful government, rather than the corrupt Security Council. Good luck.



I believe that all of the above will be sufficient to expose the Ministry's conspiracy. It is unfortunate that Al is becoming front page news at such an early age, and it is equally unfortunate that he will likely be under scrutiny of the entire wizarding world for years to come.



For what it's worth, I would like to offer a word of reassurance for the future. I do not personally believe that Al is a carrier of Tom Riddle's soul fragment. I think what the boy has is the trace memory of it, and nothing else. Unfortunately, I have no proof of that, other than my last conversation with Albus Dumbledore, who had assured me that all of the Dust of Tom Riddle's fragment had been destroyed by the Killing Curse I had cast on Harry Potter.



It is reassuring that back then, at King's Cross, Albus gave me a choice of remaining in the afterlife, or going back. Had any of Tom Riddle's Dust still remained, had there been more work for me to do, he would not have given me the choice of retiring and being laid to rest. As we both know, to him, I was a tool and a weapon first, and a friend, second.



If not for the last four years spent getting to know you all, I might never have known the difference.



My best wishes to all of you,



Severus Snape.”

---

To be continued...